The Promise
by lokyisa
Summary: Sakura woke up one day to find that she was invisible; no one could see or hear her. Until Sasuke Uchiha, that is.
1. Chapter 1

_Everyone was laughing; enjoying themselves, even. I was running, throwing my head back and convulsing with laughter, and clumsily knocking into people every-so-often. _

_"Sakura! Slow down!" But my legs were made for running; it was something that I excelled at, even trained for. I ignored the cautious voice and kept running joyously through the mingling people.  
_

_"She's drunk." Complained someone. A familiar voice that I couldn't put to a face. _

_Everything went blurry then. I remember going into the road to retrieve someone's... something. I'm not exactly sure what it was anymore. _

_Suddenly the atmosphere turned to panic._

_"Sakura!" The same voice shouted. "Sakuraaaaaa!"_

* * *

I woke up before dawn the next day. It was darker than usual; there was a thick cloud cover that morning that hid the moon and stars from my view. Without turning on the light, I trudged downstairs, remembering the days when there were the comforting voices of my parents in the kitchen. But there were no lights on when I got to the kitchen; had I forgotten that they were supposed to go out of town?

There was something different about the kitchen, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It felt like I had been sleeping for awhile, although I was sure that it had been only one night. Still, the change was unsettling.

Mom wasn't at home that morning like usual. They must have left for Dad's work somewhere, although I couldn't remember Mom telling me anything about a conference... or awards ceremony. Without eating breakfast, I set off for school - it was conveniently walking distance; I didn't have a car yet, and Ino usually took me. I imagined that she would be sleeping in this morning with a hangover, so I decided to get a head start. About halfway there I remembered that I had left my bag at her house; maybe she would bring it when she came to school later.

On my way I didn't notice that I was no longer as clumsy as I had used to be; I did not trip or stumble on my way, which is what I would do any day. Occasionally leaves would fall from trees around me, turning yellow and red already. I loved this time of year.

To my surprise when I got to school, Ino was already standing at her locker.

"Hey." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Do you have my bag?"

She ignored me, and continued searching around in the locker that we shared.

"Ino?" I said, louder. Still no response. Was she mad?

Our friend Shikamaru appeared from behind the corner, I asked him what was wrong with Ino, but he didn't answer me either.

"Do you have the trig homework?" Shikamaru asked nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes, he always copied off of Ino or me; not because he couldn't do the homework, but because he was too lazy.

"Will you please acknowledge my existence now?" I asked them both. "Please, I don't know what I did!"

Ino snorted and handed him a slightly battered copy of her homework. "It took me forever to find that in the bottom of my locker!" She told him. "Don't lose it."

He smirked, and then pecked her on the cheek before he went to his classroom.

I was so shocked by this that I forgot to ask why they were taking trigonometry when we were still in sophomore math. Were Ino and Shikamaru secretly dating now? Did they even see me?

"Hey!" I said, louder than usual. Ino was looking into a compact and retouching her make up.

What was going on?

* * *

I followed Ino around that day in a daze, she was a junior now; she and Shikamaru both. No one seemed to see me, and I remained invisible to everyone, no matter how I tried to get their attention.

However long I had been sleeping though, I had missed a lot. Ino and Shikamaru were dating now; they were only close to it as far as I remember; I guess whatever happened pushed them closer together. It was unnerving going around Ino's new junior classes with her. I always knew she wanted to be a psychology major - like her favorite aunt that always had the stories about her work, but I had never seen her take any initiative. Through most of her high school life Ino had only cared about her cheer-leading, friends, and boys - particularly the dumb-but-cute ones on the football team.

Now, however, she was taking a psychology class, instead of her beloved cheer-leading. I noticed that she payed more attention in class, instead of talking to everyone in the radius that cared, and took notes as eagerly as Rock Lee.

It was at lunch, when I first saw him; Sasuke Uchiha.

"Look." Karin's lips turned up into a smirk, and she leaned in the direction of where she was looking. "The new guy."

I had never liked Karin for numerous reasons. One, being that she always jumped at the opportunity to make fun of my abnormal hair color or forehead. Also, she dressed like a slut. As a result of Ino having two - very diverse - groups of friends, I was stuck with Karin on occasion.

Ino rolled her eyes. "You look like you want to eat him, Karin."

They watched from afar as Naruto Uzumaki approached a dark-haired boy, that I later found out was Sasuke Uchiha. As he got closer to Naruto, I noticed that his features were nearly perfect; I could already see a group of girls watching him lustfully from their tables. Apparently he and Naruto were old childhood friends, but it didn't look like it from where I was standing. In fact, it sounded like Naruto was proclaiming Sasuke his enemy...

And then his eyes turned toward the direction of our table, first passing over Ino and Shikamaru - who were now in a very intense conversation about the soy product in lunch meat, Karin, who's shirt looked even lower all of a sudden, and then me.

I could tell that he saw me, because of the slightly confused look on his face when he saw my pink hair; the expression that I got from any stranger when I informed them that the color was, in fact, natural. And then, just like that his eyes left my abnormal hair, and swept over the others that had joined our table. I wondered if he had actually seen me, or if it was just a trick of the light... or me hallucinating.

I stood behind Ino, and watched as Naruto insisted that Sasuke come sit down with the small group at the table; Gaara and Matsuri were there today, as well as Hinata and her cousin Neji Hyuuga, and Tenten. Sasuke nodded politely or murmured a response at everyone that Naruto pointed out to him. Again, his eyes passed over me after Naruto's introduction, probably wondering if I was only some strange girl that had no idea who Naruto was.

He muttered something to Naruto, that sounded a lot like, "...name?" Of course, it was probably because I had started to back away that I couldn't hear his whole sentence.

Naruto looked utterly bemused. "That's Ino, Sasuke!"

Sasuke gave me an odd look then, and I thought I saw an odd trace of fear in his eyes. "Ah." He said, and then sat down in the chairs that Ino had saved for him and Naruto; from then on, he never made eye contact with me.

Meanwhile, Karin was obviously trying to seduce this newcomer. Often, when she had managed to grab Sasuke's attention, she would lean forward and croon something, and toss her hair. I thought she looked a bit like a retarded horse when she preformed this mating ritual, and snorted with suppressed laughter; I could tell that Ino was about to do the same, but had tactfully started another conversation with Gaara and Shikamaru instead.

Assuming that the incident with Sasuke was just a mistake, I turned to Karin and said. "He's not going to give you half a chance if you keep acting like such a whore!" I had been doing this lately, telling people what I was thinking without a second thought. It was one of the perks of being invisible - one of the only ones.

Again, Sasuke's eyes briefly flashed to mine, and then looked away quickly. Could he see me?

For the rest of lunch, I considered this; if someone could see me now, then maybe I could contact my friends, and find out what had happened! The prospect of a tiny social life elated me, and I waited anxiously for the rest of the school day to end so I could speak with Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

As it turned out, Ino had the next period of classes with Sasuke, so I could keep an eye on both of them. But when the bell rang after trig, I followed Sasuke instead; I had to keep an eye on him if I wanted him to help me.

I could tell that this disturbed him a little. As the day ended, Sasuke was growing more and more tense, which only made me more hopeful, because I was sure that he could sense my presence. Shy wasn't a good word for him, he was more unsociable than anything, except to Naruto and some of his friends that he spoke to. I noted that most of the girls that had been drooling over him all day were all rejected - including Karin, to my surprise... and delight. Karin usually got every guy that she wanted.

By his last period class - AP physics, Sasuke was one of those overachievers - I could tell that he was uneasy. All the same, I was too excited to even fathom that maybe he didn't want to see me, or talk to me.

"Sasukeeeeee!" Karin cooed from behind Sasuke. She was annoying, and I could see that feeling on his face.

"Hn." He answered, and continued writing.

"Stop it silly!" Karin almost shrieked with laughter. "You're making it seem like you don't want to be around the rest of us!"

Did Sasuke just roll his eyes?

"Karin, leave him alone." said Neji Hyuuga, a few desks away. "It's obvious Uchiha's not interested."

She looked taken aback at this, but then smirked. "That's impossible; everyone wants me."

Why that little-

"HEY SASUKE!" Naruto burst into the room with so much vigor, you would have thought the building was burning down.

"Naruto." Sasuke said uninterestedly. "You're supposed to be in English."

"I know teme!" he said buoyantly. "I've come to check on you!"

"He's not a child." Karin pouted, obviously annoyed that Naruto had interrupted her flirting. "You don't have to treat him like one."

I snorted, I couldn't help it. "Told you so." I snickered. Sasuke tensed again.

Iruka didn't seem to mind Naruto intruding on his class; he wasn't even teaching today, just letting the students catch-up, so Naruto chattered to Sasuke through the rest of the period. When the bell finally rang, I was about ready to burst. I followed Sasuke and Naruto through the crowded hallways, until they finally split up at the door - apparently Naruto had a detention because of graffiti.

"They always tell us to express ourselves!" He complained.

"I don't think they meant painting a likeness of Tsunade on the gym wall." Sasuke sighed.

We walked through the crowd outside, and I watched Sasuke dodge numerous fan girls on our way out. I wondered if I would ever get a moment alone with him...

Finally, he began to walk home. I supposed that he didn't live far away from the school... or his car was broken.

For the first few minutes of us walking, I almost chickened out. What if something happened?

To my surprise, it was Sasuke that interrupted the awkward silence. "What do you want?" he asked rudely.

"W-what?" I stammered, caught off guard.

"You've been following me all day." He stopped, and I realized how much taller he was than me. His black eyes scanned the premises for any neighbors that might think he was mental, and then continued. "So what do you want?"

"You can see me." I repeated what I had been thinking all day.

"Obviously."

"No one else can... I was wondering if you could tell me what happened?" I asked him as politely as I could without screaming.

"Usually the people I see are dead."

It felt like I was filled with ice water. "Dead." I repeated, not liking how the word sounded on my tongue.

"Can you help me?" I asked him. Maybe there was some way to reverse this... to let people know that I was still existing.

"No." The tone he used was final. I opened my mouth to beg, but he continued. "I moved here to get away from things like you."

And then he walked away.

* * *

I stood there for hours; maybe days. I lost track of time as I thought of how cruel Sasuke's words were. Maybe it was true, maybe I was dead. But how could I still be here?

As a little girl, I had never believed in ghosts. It was something that people would tell to try to frighten me, or part of some game that I played with the other kids at school. But to be called a "thing"... that was almost as bad as being ignored.

The next day, I didn't even show up at school. I didn't want to see Sasuke Uchiha again after our encounter. I stayed away for weeks, until the desire to see my best friends got the best of me; I went to school a month later, and followed Ino around.

To my surprise, and horror, Sasuke had become part of the group that Ino sat with at lunch; he even had almost half of her classes!

"Sasuke." Gaara said, confused. "What are you looking at?"

Sasuke had been glaring at me without knowing it. "Nothing." he said. It didn't sound like an excuse, it sounded like he thought it was true.

"I'm not a 'thing'!" I retorted. "I'm a real human being!"

To my surprise, I got no response. Sasuke wouldn't want to look like a lunatic in front of his new friends. _My_ friends.

"Ino." I said desperately. "What _happened_ to me!"

"Shikamaru." She scolded. "What would your father say?" She indicated his current D in English.

"Nothing." Shikamaru said. "He works night shifts, and is usually too asleep to comment on my grades."

Ino rolled her eyes.

I was almost in tears, but I couldn't cry. I realized that the first night, when I realized that my parents hadn't been in our house for weeks. I still didn't know where they were. Had they meant to leave me?

I went through the day as if nothing was wrong. I commented on Karin's slutty-looking shirt, how well Ino was doing in her classes without me as a tutor, and how Kakashi was always late for English class; always. I also found it amusing to make fun of the fan girl's antics to get Sasuke's attention.

"Sasuke!" One of them wailed. "I don't know what to do!" She was referring to her physics homework.

I rolled my eyes, she wasn't the brightest, but I had noticed that she was making at least a B-average at most. "Right." I said. "So those other grades... they were only luck!"

Sasuke declined politely, saying that he had history to make-up.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whined. "I was going to ask her out!"

"What does me helping her with school have anything to do with that?" he asked irritably.

As Naruto gave Sasuke a very vivid description, I watched as another girl watched jealously at Sasuke from afar. She was above average in her looks, maybe an eight, with large blue eyes that bugged out a little, but in a weird way made her look pretty. She was turned down as well.

After awhile, I had gotten comfortable with addressing Sasuke directly.

"Does this always happen to you?" I asked him once while he was walking outside. "All these girls... it's not normal, you know."

He never answered, but I could tell he saw me, which only encouraged me more. I had decided that if I would stay like this for awhile - possibly forever, I didn't know. That it didn't hurt to ask Sasuke if he had changed his mind. I was becoming more and more desperate every day; the desire to know what had happened to me was increasing every time I thought about Sasuke figuring it our for me. Maybe there was a way for me to return.

"So I was wondering," I said one day, when he was trying to listen to his trigonometry teacher - Azuma, "Have you thought of helping me? Just a little?" I tried not to show the desperation in my voice. I wanted to talk to Ino so much... find out where my mom was.

I didn't know that Sasuke was actually considering what I asked of him. I hoped, but there were no obvious signs that he was taking what I said to heart.

* * *

I remember the day that Sasuke decided to help me. Or, told me about his decision.

It was getting colder every day, and the last of the leaves had fallen from their branches. I had been getting into the habit of following Sasuke everywhere, at least to his house; I always stayed at my house at night, hoping that maybe I would see Mom, or Dad, if he wasn't away for work.

Sasuke was walking home from school, and I followed him silently. I made a few remarks on Ino's new hair cut (she had opted for layers a few days ago, which surprisingly looked amazing on her).

"It's probably because she has an oval-shaped face." I explained to an uncaring Sasuke. "They always get away with everything."

We walked more in silence. I remember thinking about how lonely I would be on Christmas, when Sasuke spoke.

"I'll help you." He said.

I was so shocked, that I couldn't speak for a moment. "Did you just say-"

"Yes." Sasuke said. We had both stopped walking. He seemed to be struggling with something. "You aren't leaving me alone, and you seem really animate about finding about what happened to you."

I could have kissed him. "Thank you!" I shouted gleefully. "Thank you so much Sasuke!"

"Just, please stop talking during classes." he pleaded, "I can't pay attention with you insulting everyone."

I did just that of course, besides the occasional outburst.

We got to work immediately, Sasuke's brother Itachi (apparently he had moved here to live with his brother, who was usually in the city working anyway) was doing something for his business, so he wasn't at home.

"It's better this way." Sasuke told me, "So he doesn't think I'm going mental."

We sat in his tastefully designed living room - apparently Itachi had hired someone for this - Sasuke holding a notepad and a disposable pen and interrogating me.

"What's your full name?" he asked.

"Er..." I thought for a minute. "Sakura."

"What's your last name?" Sasuke said, incredulously.

"I can't remember." I admitted, straining my mind.

He went on to asking my parents names, which I couldn't seem to remember either. This scared me, how was I going to find them?

Sasuke sighed in frustration. "Can you remember anything about them, like their profession, or maybe anything they were known for doing?"

"My father was a doctor." I remembered finally. "A good doctor, he won a lot of awards."

"Good." Sasuke wrote something down. "Anything else?"

* * *

_**(from Sasuke's notes)**_

**Name: Sakura (cannot remember last name)**

**-Parent's names unknown **

**-Father was a doctor. Worked in Leaf Hospital most likely. **

**-In school Sakura was in track (short distance), joined the chess team in freshman year, was present in the hospital a lot in seventh grade - cannot remember why. **

**-Met a nurse named Shizune.  
**

**-Says she is age 15, but friends are in eleventh grade now. Accident most likely happened over a year ago, or less. **

**-Parent's location unknown. **

**-Smart for her age; was in advanced classes since elementary school, and was offered to move up a level in math, but opted not to. **

**-Wanted to be doctor like her father.  
**

**-Cannot remember many details about her life, unless reminded or confronted by something that reminds her of it.**

* * *

We went on like that for a few weeks. I would (still) go to school with Sasuke, where I would find Ino and Shikamaru. They never brought me up; this was a bad sign. Sasuke guessed that they wouldn't want to speak of what happened. I thought they just moved on... or forgot.

Likewise, Sasuke worked harder than ever. Every night we were working, trying to find something that I could remember about my life that he could use to my advantage. We found out that my father was a famous surgeon, that had been employed by people all over the world to fix problems. I wondered where he was now. My mother was a secretary at the hospital that he had been working at once; I wondered how they met. Sometimes, when I thought hard enough, I could remember traces of them; Mom's delicate perfume, and the color of Dad's scrubs when I would visit him.

"Why can't I remember?" I said in frustration one day. "If I could just find my parents... then maybe they could tell you what happened!"

Sasuke peered at me from his physics book. "I don't know." he admitted. "You say you woke up in your old house... but no one was there. Has it been vacant for awhile?"

"I had been waiting there every night before you said you'd help me." I sighed, "No one turned up... is Itachi coming home tonight?" I changed the subject.

"No." Sasuke murmured. "He's always so busy... it's different from when I lived with our parents."

Sasuke had moved here because he was almost suicidal; apparently he had been followed around by worse things than me. His parents had been sending him to a psychiatrist ever since he was about eleven or twelve because of his "condition". Finally, when nothing the shrink had been doing seemed to work, they sent him to live with his brother Itachi, who had suggested that some fresh air away from the city would be good for Sasuke.

"No one believed me." Sasuke had said. "They said it was all in my head."

"I'm sorry." I said quietly.

That's why he had been so furious that day when I had asked him for help.

"You were different." He said, less somber now, "All the others did was torment me; no one asked for help. You're the only... one I've seen here so far. Maybe most of them are in the city."

I nodded. "Do you know what they... I, am?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I had always considered them to be some kind of spirit. Like a ghost." He saw my grimace, and then said quickly. "But that doesn't mean that's what you are."

Sasuke's words from that day flooded into my head. "Am I dead?" I whispered. It felt as if I had known this all along; just never wanted to admit it.

He thought for a moment. "It's possible, but not the only option."

"So, what you said that day..." I trailed off.

"Was only an attempt to get rid of you." he answered.

And so, I still had hope.

* * *

**A/N: For those of you who have taken the time to read this, thank you! This is a weird story for me to write, so if you're confused please tell me. I kind of got some of my ideas from the movie _The Sixth Sense, _but not all of it. If you have any comments on the story so far, please tell me what you think in the form of a review! :D **

**Edit 12/4/11:** It has come to my attention that there are some inconsistencies in my fanfiction (when I started writing it I had ideas that changed as the story progressed), so I'm going back to fix them. I'm still working on the newest chapter though, so don't worry! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, I've just been so busy with school and stuff that I couldn't find any time! Until now, that is. Thank you so much for taking the time to review my fan fiction, please tell me what you think about this chapter!**

**Also, I meant to finish this around Christmas, but since it is now almost February, it appears that I have failed. D8 Sorry!**

* * *

"So this is it." Sasuke said softly.

We were standing in front of my house; the one that I lived in with my parents. It had been empty for awhile; the ivy that dad had pursued had grown up the side of the house again, and a light layer of dust had appeared inside.

"I don't know where they are." I told him, just as quiet, "They're gone."

It was true. The first few days of this new existence, I had waited for a sign of them, my parents, hoping that once they were here everything would return to normal - a childish hope.

"Do you have any other relatives around here?" Sasuke asked. "Anyone that they would have gone to stay with... or visit?"

I thought for a moment. "I have an aunt that lives in Connecticut. She was the only one my mom was close to. And all of my dad's family lives in Washington."

Sasuke nodded. "Connecticut is where my parents are now. What's your aunt's name?"

I gazed at the white picket fence that still seemed like home, and considered this for a moment. "I can't remember."

"Alright." he said. "It'll come to you sometime."

I hoped he was right.

"Do you want to see inside?" I asked him, trying not to think about losing my parents forever. "There's no alarm, and I think there's still a key under the flowerpot."

A few minutes later, we were inside. I saw Sasuke's eyes widen at the medical awards on the shelf in the hallway, and smiled. Dad was good at what he did; I wanted to be just like him.

"Are they your parents?" Sasuke indicated a family picture that we had taken when I was about seven. There I was, with bangs and one of my teeth missing in the front - an awkward-looking child. Behind me stood Mom and Dad. Mom had shoulder-length red hair at the time, with loose curls. Dad had laugh lines and looked like the luckiest person in the world.

"Yes." I murmured, "It was years ago though."

Another picture was beside it, of only Dad. It was from the time we went to Japan for one of his awards ceremonies, and we were walking through the cherry blossoms. My chest ached when I saw it, but I couldn't remember why.

"They look familiar." Sasuke said. "I think I saw your dad somewhere."

I nodded. "Sometimes he has to go work out of town for awhile, maybe you saw him then."

Sasuke's expression was brooding again, and he walked down the hallway, occasionally examining our things. We continued on like this for awhile, until we ended up upstairs.

"Is this your room?" He pointed at my door; the one with a sunflower on it that Ino had painted years ago.

"Yes."

I stayed outside as he searched my room - I didn't want to embarrass myself, even if it was obvious that it didn't matter anymore. Instead, I waited patiently outside.

* * *

It was dark when we returned to Sasuke's house.

"Won't your brother worry?" I asked him. "It's getting late."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Itachi only invited me here to please Mom. Besides," he added. "He's always away on business, he wouldn't have to put up with me anyway."

I thought I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, but I could have been mistaken.

I sat on Itachi's black leather couch as Sasuke went into the kitchen to make himself something to eat. In this state, I didn't have to do anything. It was both convenient and frustrating. Soon, my sitting turned into a sprawl, and I found myself looking up at the ceiling. Would I ever escape from this life?

I turned my head, and saw the various bookshelves that Itachi kept. There was something in the corner of one, but I couldn't make it out. When I drew closer, I realized that it was a picture of Sasuke's family.

As a child, Sasuke was cute. He was missing a tooth in the front, and his expression was innocent and happy. Itachi stood next to him, already looking like he was in his teens; his face was confident, and he smirked at the camera. The two people behind him were the image of a perfect family; his mom was beautiful, with glossy black hair that was swept back elegantly, and beside her stood a stern-looking man.

"What are you doing?" Came Sasuke's voice behind me.

I jumped. "Your family," I started. "You look so nice."

Sasuke studied the picture with me. In his hands he held a small bowl of salad; most of it being tomatoes.

"Do you ever eat anything else besides tomatoes?" I asked him.

He smirked at me, and popped one into his mouth, "That was taken when I was seven." he pointed at the picture, "Before I started seeing things."

"You look happy." I smiled.

Sasuke snorted, and left the room to the kitchen. I followed a few minutes later; he was at the kitchen table, scribbling out trigonometry.

I sighed as I looked at the math. I had always enjoyed schoolwork, I even started paying attention to the classes that I followed Sasuke to - pretending that school even mattered was one of the many ways I stayed sane. Plus, it had never lost it's charm.

For the past month, Sasuke and I had fallen into a routine: we would spent a few hours after returning from school researching about my parents, and other things related to me, then Sasuke would eat, do his homework, and go to bed. I would usually stay in the living room, just thinking, until the rare occasion when Itachi would come home. If he did, I would probably take a walk.

"Goodnight." Sasuke said, as he shuffled his papers into a neat pile. "Don't hurt yourself."

I nodded, and waited for the sound of his bedroom door to shut, before I went back to the couch, and sat down on it.

After a few minutes, my composure turned into a full-on sprawl, and I was looking up at the ceiling, like always. My thoughts, lingered on schoolwork, and Ino and Shikamaru for awhile. I wondered what I would be doing if everything was normal - probably studying late night on a physics test. Mom would probably be downstairs, waiting for Dad to come home with a pint of Ben&Jerry's (this was, of course, before she had started that diet, then it was low-fat frozen yogurt). There was a desperate yearning growing in me for those days.

My train of thought was interrupted by a noise outside. Someone was throwing pebbles at the window. I heard Sasuke's footsteps coming down the hallway to investigate. He was wearing boxers and a black shirt that was a little tighter than the school uniforms; it was hot.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke sighed, as Naruto burst from the doorway.

"The neighbor's are having a party, and I can't sleep." he complained, "Can I crash here?"

Sasuke sighed, and moved out of the way, inviting Naruto in. He shot me a warning look, and I stood up quickly from the couch. Naruto sprawled on it minutes later.

"Thanks." He sighed, and promptly fell asleep.

"Does he do this all the time?" I asked Sasuke once we left the room.

"Every once in a while." he said, and I noticed what he was wearing again. "Naruto lives in his own apartment... his parents died when he was little, and Iruka, his guardian, moved away for a job, but Naruto stayed- what are you doing?"

If I was still alive, I would have blushed. "N-nothing." I stammered. Sasuke peered at me, and I realized how much taller he was than me. "I'm going to take a walk." I decided.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and left to his room.

* * *

"Oh my god." Ino whispered, "It's _perfect_."

She was gazing at the ornate Christmas tree in the corner of the school's cafeteria. Ino had always loved Christmas; the decorations, singing, gifts, weather...

_"Just everyone's mood." _she had explained to me. _"It's so happy." _

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Watch out." he warned Sasuke, "She's even worse around this time."

Ino punched him. "Watch it." she warned, and went back to scrutinizing the tree.

Naruto joined the table soon after, and began to shove everything in sight down his esophagus. Needless to say, Ino, and all the other females in the area, lost their appetite. I was so caught up in homesickness for my friends, that I didn't notice the imminent threat approaching.

"Sasuke." Karin adjusted her glasses - why did that make her look prettier? - and smiled, "We need to get to work."

By force of nature, probably the one that has to do with beautiful people somehow always finding each other, Karin and Sasuke had been forced together as partners on an English assignment - something that Karin had managed to exploit every day at lunch.

Sasuke nodded, and followed her. As they were walking, Ino whispered. "Looks like Karin's got him hooked, whether he likes it or not."

"Lucky!" Naruto complained, "I've been trying to ask her out for years!"

"No way!" I yelled in his face, knowing that he wouldn't hear. "You've been doing the same thing to me!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "You say that about every girl, Naruto."

I had never liked Karin, especially since she became friends with Ino a few years ago, and I knew the feelings were mutual. Maybe it was because since she was already so popular with the boys, anyone that was even close to one was a threat, I honestly didn't know.

All I knew that, for some reason, she hated me.

* * *

**Sasuke's notes (continued)**

**- Sakura met Shikamaru in third grade, when he was placed in advanced classes because the teachers figured out he was a genius.**

**-Has known Ino since they were briefly neighbors in first grade.  
**

**- Hospital she mainly went to was Leaf Hospital, downtown.**

**_Note: Research Leaf Hospital on famous doctors._ **

**- Cannot remember her last name, even a few weeks later, but is remembering other things. **

**- Father was a surgeon.**

* * *

As the days went by, I was able to remember more about myself. Like that my father was a surgeon, and what hospital he worked in. It filled me with more hope, because it gave Sasuke something more to research. I hoped that one day I would be able to remember enough that we could figure out what was going on.

"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted down the hallway, "What should I get you for Christmas!"

The days were dwindling closer, and I had been suggesting to Sasuke that he should be buying presents. At first, my suggestions were subtle, an occasional hint whenever we passed a decorated house on our way back to his house. This soon transformed into a full-on nag, when I realized that he had no intention on doing anything.

"You have to get something!" I said. "What about Naruto? And Itachi!"

"Do you honestly expect Itachi to be at home?" Sasuke scoffed at me. "Christmas for him is like Thanksgiving, except more expensive."

I thought of Thanksgiving, when Naruto came over to watch horror movies and eat frozen TV dinners. Itachi was away in Aspen or something, partying with his attractive coworkers.

"But you can't do that!" I protested. "That's not... Why!"

Ever since I had been abandoning him with Karin everyday at lunch, Sasuke had been in a sour mood at that time every day. Thus, how he was feeling when Naruto asked him this question.

"Nothing, Naruto!" he said, sulking. "I told you, I'm not doing this!"

"BUT TEME!"

* * *

It was after school the next day, when I found myself trailing behind Sasuke at the mall, where he had just finished purchasing gifts. It was about time, since there was only one day of school left before break.

"At least you're done with that English project." I said, Karin had always tried to hit on him every time she got him alone - which was one of the reasons that I stopped following Sasuke to the library during lunch. Sasuke had been acting a little off today, ever since this morning in the car (Itachi was out of town - no surprise - so he was letting Sasuke use his car in the meantime).

Sasuke was a good driver, which wasn't surprising to me. He was usually in control of things, I noticed. Today we were later than usual, which was almost pushing it if we weren't so close to the school.

"My parents want me to come visit over the holidays." His voice finally broke the silence.

I suddenly remembered my parents, which felt like a punch in the stomach. I wondered what they were doing for the holidays, and suddenly felt homesick. "What are you going to do?" I asked. As far as I knew, Sasuke's parents hadn't been that accepting. In fact, Sasuke had told me once, sending him to live with Itachi was just proof that they had given up.

"I don't know." His eyes were fixated on the road.

"I think you should go." I told him. Just having a chance to see family, even ones as controlling as Sasuke's parents, sounded appealing to me. "But what would Naruto do?"

Sasuke smirked. "He'd come with me. Our mother's were friends back when Naruto's was still alive, he's practically family."

I smiled. "Then what are you waiting for?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it's been taking me so long to write this! I've just been so busy lately with school I haven't had any time to work on this fanfiction. I'm still writing it though, however long it takes me! I know it's still Christmas in the story, which just proves how long it's taking me to write it, and it probably will be for another chapter! So I apologize for that! If you find any spelling/grammar errors please tell me, and if there are any problems with the story.  
**

**Oh, and if it sounds like I'm rambling in this, I probably am, sorry!**

**I hope you like the newest chapter! **

**Disclaimer: Naruto and the characters don't belong to me.  
**

* * *

I had only been in Sasuke's room a couple of times. The previous occasions had been when Itachi was home (when this happened, he would usually tease Sasuke about something minuscule, they would eat, and then Itachi would politely excuse himself to his bedroom). As Sasuke didn't want Itachi to think he was a raving lunatic -- the reason he had been sent here in the first place -- we would continue our research in his room.

Sasuke's room was simple -- white walls with the only necessary amount of furniture with his laptop and a few pictures on the desk. It was obvious that he hadn't lived there very long, and seemed wistful and empty.

On this occasion, I was there to keep Sasuke company while he packed for his trip. Quite a few times during the past few days (it was already December 22 -- we would be leaving the next day) he had gotten second thoughts about going back home for Christmas.

"There's no backing out now." I insisted. "You've already bought plane tickets, and Naruto's so excited!" This was an understatement, Naruto had almost had a heart attack of pure glee when he realized that they would be going somewhere for the holidays.

Seeing the weary look on Sasuke's face, I laughed. "Come on! It's not that bad!"

Sasuke was folding clothes and placing them in a bag as he answered, "You haven't experienced four days with Naruto non-stop. It's exhausting."

I knew this wasn't completely true. Sasuke really did like Naruto, he just had a funny way of showing it. I shrugged and put my arms around my legs; I was sitting no the desk chair, watching him pack. "Aren't you a little excited?" I persisted.

He rolled his eyes, and then thought about it. "Maybe a little." he admitted, "But I'm more curious to see what they're going to say to me... the last time we saw each other wasn't exactly our finest moment."

I was silent after that.

* * *

The next morning, we awoke early -- at least, Sasuke did -- I couldn't sleep -- and after packing Sasuke's things into Itachi's car, which the owner was allowing Sasuke to borrow for the trip to the airport (he would meet the family in Connecticut for Christmas day, and then go back to his work) we were ready to go.

On the way to the airport, Sasuke and I spoke little. I was already stationed in the back, to avoid moving when we picked up Naruto, and it seemed as Sasuke's thoughts were elsewhere. I didn't blame him, I was just as nervous. Connecticut was where my aunt lived (at least, the last time I checked), and was also where I hoped to find some trace of my family.

The sky was gray and cloudy, as if the sky couldn't make up its mind on whether to rain or not. I felt as if it was reflecting my mood.

Naruto was still packing when we arrived at his apartment, apparently it had not struck him important to pack before.

"It was a good idea to leave early." I snickered. "Does he always do this?"

Sasuke nodded. "Mostly."

Once Naruto was in the car, the silence that had once felt like a wall had disappeared, in its place came Naruto's chatter. On occasion, I would make a comment, not expecting to be answered, but to feel a little normal.

The airport was an hour away, and the time seemed to fly by with Naruto. He talked and talked about how he had to go to the store in the middle of the night to have enough ramen to back for the trip, the nerve of the employees at said convenience store for not having his favorite kind in stock -- although it really wasn't their fault, and it was probably Naruto in the first place that had emptied the shelves, Sasuke pointed out -- and how he wasn't sure if twenty containers was enough for four days.

"But it's okay!" he amended, "because I can buy more, right teme?" A pause. "Do they have ramen in Connecticut?"

The plane ride was better; Naruto was asleep after the first half-hour. As it was close to Christmas, the plane was packed, with hardly any seats left. I settled for taking up a seat a few rows back from Sasuke and Naruto -- enough to keep an eye on them, although not as nice as sitting by them. Beside me, sat a business man, who was working on his laptop.

From my spot in the back, I watched one of the flight attendants, a pretty brunette that seemed to be maybe nineteen or twenty, constantly "check in" on Sasuke. Each time, he seemed to barely notice her. Bored, I followed her to the front, where she was discussing him with her coworker.

"Look at him!" She marveled. "Have you ever seen anyone so gorgeous?"

The other attendant, a woman around the same age, agreed. "He's got to be a model."

I reported this back to Sasuke happily, eavesdropping had never had the thrill it did now, now that I couldn't be seen, he rolled his eyes and smirked.

The flight attendant took this as a sign. "Can I get you anything?" I had to admit, she could make herself sound pretty irresistible.

"No thank you." Sasuke said politely.

I snorted. "I guess this happens every time you go out?"

The rest of the flight went interesting enough. After two hours in the plane, and one more in the next airport, we switched to another, longer flight. The one that would take us to an airport in Connecticut.

Naruto yawned, and exclaimed. "How much longer, Sasuke?"

"Four hours."

As we got closer to Connecticut, I could see Sasuke grow even more tense.

"You'll be okay." I told him, when I grew bored of waiting. "They're your family, they'll be happy to see you!"

Sasuke looked at me warily, and I hoped that my words were true.

We were now flying over a small patch of New York, about to enter Connecticut. I felt anticipation turn my insides to jello, and I was suddenly nervous at what I might find in Hartford.

When we finally reached the airport, Sasuke looked about ready to turn around and go back home. Naruto seemed to be oblivious to Sasuke's conflict, and was anxious to get out of the plane.

"C'mon teme!" he urged. "Let's go!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and proceeded down the aisle.

Contrary to what I may have thought, only Sasuke's mother was there to meet us at the airport. She looked different from the picture that I had seen of her at Itachi's house -- older, like she had been under stress the past few years, and when she smiled at Sasuke I thought of my own mom with a tinge of pain.

"You've grown." She embraced him and then stepped back, still smiling. The smile looked a little uncomfortable, but I supposed that it was alright. Mrs. Uchiha was a few inches shorter that Sasuke, and fragile in comparison. "Your father couldn't be here to greet you; he had a business meeting, but you'll see each other tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night was Christmas eve. I wondered if this was normal for his family.

She focused her attention on Naruto. "Hello, Naruto. It's nice to see you again."

They exchanged greetings, and, after collecting their bags, proceeded to walk towards Mrs. Uchiha's car.

It was snowing lightly outside, and snowflakes decorated Sasuke's hair as he walked. I loved snow, and tried to catch some in my hand, but they all seemed to go through me. He still looked tense, and a little nervous. I watched snow collect on the ground as we passed, and wondered if it would still be there in the morning.

When I was about five, Dad and I had built a snowman on one of his days off. Except, since we couldn't find a carrot, he had a tomato for a nose, until it popped and leaked red juice all over the poor snowman's face. I remember that when Mom came outside she laughed and laughed at us, but as a five-year-old I felt discouraged.

Now it was only memories that I had of them. For now, I hoped.

* * *

The Uchiha's home was a simple, yet tasteful, townhouse. From what Sasuke had told me, Sasuke's mother passed the time with her job at Yale University as a music professor, and Sasuke's father was a successful businessman that owned a company in Manhattan, and lived there part-time.

"How is school coming along?" Sasuke's mom wanted to know as she unlocked the door. I spotted a Christmas tree glittering through one of the windows.

"It's going okay." replied Sasuke. He seemed less tense, but still on the edge. "I've made a lot of new friends."

"That's good." she smiled again, and this time, it didn't look as forced. "I'm glad you're happy."

"See?" I told Sasuke. "This is going okay!"

I watched as Sasuke's mother chatted, almost nervously. Naruto quickly excused himself to go put his things away (translation: he wanted to escape from the awkwardness) so Sasuke was left alone with one of the people who had exiled him.

To my surprise, Sasuke did a good job of pretending that he was okay. I tried to help by giving him suggestions of what to say at first, but after the first few he seemed okay.

But even though I was kept preoccupied by Sasuke's reuniting with his mother, my mind still wandered to my unknown aunts location. In the window the snow began to fall heavier, and I spent a few minutes watching that. It was calming, and for a moment I felt at ease. And in that moment, everything seemed like it would be okay somehow.

After a quick dinner, Naruto and Sasuke -- exhausted from the trip -- went immediately to bed. Sasuke's mother stayed up for a while longer, however. I watched as she sighed when Sasuke was gone, her smile immediately fading. Her face looked guilty, and pained, and I watched as she made herself a cup of tea, pacing around the kitchen as she waited for the water to boil.

It must have been hard, I thought, to send your son away like that. Even harder to see him again and try to pretend that everything was okay.

I waited until I was sure that she had gone to bed, and then went outside. I usually liked to pretend that I was human, and wait for people to open doors to walk through, but if I needed to I could pass through the door itself. The first few times this happened terrified me, but now I had gotten used to it.

The frigid air wrapped around me like a blanket, but I wasn't cold. I could barely feel anything actually. Making sure that I would be able to find my way back to the house, I walked around the neighborhood -- just thinking. Somewhere in this town being smothered by snow was my aunt, and I would find her. I had to.

* * *

The next day, Christmas eve, Sasuke's mother woke up early to start making breakfast. With nothing better to do, I decided to join her in the kitchen, watching her whisk around the kitchen, preparing what looked like some sort of egg dish, and sausage. I wondered what she would do if she saw a strange pink-haired girl watching her prepare a meal, and snorted.

As the food was cooking, sending an appetizing smell into the air, Mrs. Uchiha made herself some tea (I assumed that she was caffeine intolerant or something) and sat and the table made of polished dark wood, sipping it occasionally. She looked happier that she had last night. Still tense, but happy.

Sasuke woke up shortly afterward. He looked sleep-creased; ruffling his already messy hair as he walked down the stairs.

Mrs. Uchiha smiled. "I was thinking that you might want to go into town with Naruto today, since you haven't been here in awhile."

I froze. What if Sasuke started to see things again? Would they send him home?

Sasuke seemed to be having the same reaction, but just as I was about to say something, he relaxed. "That sounds fine." He said. "I'll just have to wait until Naruto wakes up."

"TEME!" There was a loud crash from upstairs.

Mrs. Uchiha's eyes widened. "I hope he didn't break anything."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

After breakfast, Naruto and Sasuke embarked into the fresh layer of snow (it had stopped snowing early in the morning, to my dismay). Sasuke's mother insisted that they should go on without her, as she had to do some work before everyone arrived.

We walked quietly, through the small shops in town. Naruto often became distracted and insisted upon going into every store that caught his eye. There, he would walk aimlessly through the aisles, his short attention span leading him around.

After the first five shops, Sasuke chose to wait outside. Since it was Christmas eve, the place was packed; full of tourists and people buying last minute gifts. This store was one that seemed to specialize in soap, or was it an odd sort of food?

"How are you feeling?" I asked, while we waited.

Sasuke looked at me curiously. "If you're asking me whether I've started seeing things, I haven't." The corners of his mouth twitched in what looked like a minuscule smile. "I'm not sure why." He continued. "Usually they were all over the place, especially in--"

"Sasuke Uchiha!" A voice that clearly belonged to a girl interrupted incredulously.

Sasuke's smile turned into a look of wariness, and then confusion. A pretty girl with long dark hair had thrown her arms around him.

"Rin." He said, surprised.

"I can't believe you're here!" Rin said gleefully. "Where have you _been_? I've been so worried ever since your mom told us that you moved in with Itachi!"

My stomach twisted into knots at her presence, and I had no idea why. How could I have not expected him to have friends waiting for him at home?

Rin stepped back to get a closer look at him. "So how are you? I haven't seen you in months!"

Sasuke seemed like he was about to answer, when Naruto's loud voice interrupted.

"SASUKE!" He burst through the doors; a group of women had to jump back before they were hit. "C'MON TEME!"

"Who's that?" Rin wanted to know. The blond was now fighting his way through the ever-thickening crowd.

"Naruto." Sasuke explained. "We're here visiting for the holidays."

"You mean you're not here to stay?" Rin pouted.

She accompanied us (although no one knew I was there except for Sasuke) around town. Sasuke and Naruto had been asked to run some errands for Mrs. Uchiha, so they started on them. Rin bombarded Sasuke with questions about how he was, and in return talking about their friends in Connecticut.

Sasuke seemed fine with it, but it was sort of a reality check for me to see that he had others waiting for him back home.

"If I had known you returned yesterday I would have invited you to the Christmas party we had last night!" Rin smiled as she described a boy named Sai getting so inebriated that he ended up falling asleep in the kitchen sink.

Sasuke smirked at some of this, sometimes questioning her about how school had been coming along, other times remarking on something odd she had said. Rin looked as if she couldn't have been happier to see him. All I could focus on was not trying to "accidentally" knock her into a wall -- something I had figured out that I could do if I used enough energy.

However, things like this left me exhausted (if that's the way to put it), I sort of faded after exerting myself so much, so those things were usually avoided.

Finally, Rin realized that she had only been out to buy a present for her little brother or something, and said goodbye. She looked almost longingly at him as she walked away, but to my delight he didn't notice.

What was wrong with me?

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke returned just in time for Itachi to return home, and then his father.

Itachi was a successful business man (he took after his father) and was usually seen in an expensive-looking suit. Grinning, he greeted his mother with a hug.

"Hey little brother." He smirked at Sasuke. "Long time, no see."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Itachi's attempt to make small talk. He had been absent often since Sasuke moved in with him -- a technicality that their parents still didn't know about.

"How are you, dear?" Sasuke's mother lit up when her eldest son came home. Sasuke had told me once that Itachi was her favorite. I hadn't believed him at first.

"It's because she didn't have problems with Itachi." Sasuke had said. "He was always so perfect, being top of the class, and becoming exactly the type of person that Dad was at his age. She couldn't be prouder." He said this almost bitterly.

I still didn't think that was exactly correct. Sasuke and his mother just had more tension between them, that was all.

The arrival of Sasuke's dad was even more awkward than the first encounter with his Mom. Even I couldn't think of anything to say, which, as Sasuke liked to point out later, was a first.

Sasuke's father was almost exactly like the man I had seen in the picture -- stern-looking and serious, with maybe a few more gray hairs. He and Sasuke looked at each other tensely for a moment, and I saw thoughts of leaving cross Sasuke's mind. They both looked extremely uncomfortable. After a few long seconds (long enough for me to wonder what exactly they had said) Mr. Uchiha broke the silence.

"Er." He started. "Hello, son." And then he gave Sasuke an awkward one-armed hug.

Sasuke's face contorted into what looked like it was supposed to be a smile. I couldn't help but snort with laughter because of this, only to get a look sent at me from Sasuke himself.

Itachi swept into the room elegantly. "Hello father."

Sasuke's father smiled. "Itachi. I trust that your work has been coming along well."

Itachi nodded, and winked at Sasuke.

The rest of the evening went smoothly enough. Itachi was charismatic enough to keep the conversation away from Sasuke's "problems", and soon I could see the Uchiha's and Naruto starting to enjoy themselves, all except Mr. Uchiha, who seemed to always show no emotion.

Finally, after chatting for about an hour and a half, Itachi retired to bed -- Sasuke and Naruto following him shortly afterwards. It was then when I was left with Sasuke's parents.

Once he was sure that Sasuke was gone, Mr. Uchiha muttered. "Why did you suggest bringing him here? Don't you think it's too soon? He could relapse!"

Mrs. Uchiha sighed. "It's Christmas, Fugaku, I wanted him to see his family."

They murmured for a few more minutes, arguing, until Mrs. Uchiha huffed and went into their bedroom. I watched as Sasuke's father sighed when she left, and fixed himself a cup of some sort of alcohol (I couldn't tell from where I was standing, out of the way).

As he sat there, I felt uncomfortable being in the same room as this man. I felt furious, and a tiny bit sad when I watched the two argue about Sasuke, almost like I wanted to shield him from his father's comments, protect him. At that moment, I wished that he had never been able to see people like... me. I wished that he had been blessed with a normal life, and maybe a more understanding father.

Deciding this, I walked out of the house. I would take a walk until Mr. Uchiha was long asleep, and in the meantime, I would look for my aunt.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey, I'm back! Sorry about not writing for awhile! I've been pretty busy with school and stuff, but now that it's summer I think I can write a bit before it starts again, and then hopefully I'll be updating more regularly! I definitely want to finish this story sometime, so please hang in there if you're reading it!

Thank you so much for the reviews! And please tell me what you think!

* * *

I walked along the streets, silently searching for my aunt. Snow was softly falling on the ground, and I began to wonder why snow makes everything so quiet. Since it was Christmas Eve, the houses I passed were lit up with lights of different colors, adding to the festivity and my mood.

At this moment, I truly missed my old life and would do anything to get it back.

After passing several neighborhoods (an advantage at being in this state allows me to never get tired), I finally came to the one that had the address that Sasuke had looked up for me. It was in the middle of a neighborhood of identical new houses, the only thing that set it apart from its neighbors were the numbers on the front door.

Hesitantly, I passed through said front door. There were no decorations on the house, and when I got inside, all of the lights are turned off.

"Obviously." I muttered, "Since it's two o' clock in the morning."

I walked around the first floor, and found pictures of my family on the mantelpiece. There was my latest school picture - the one from a year ago, a picture of my mom and aunt, a picture of my two cousins, and a large family photo that was taken when someone had the mad idea for us to all congregate at someone's house.

Knowing then that this was, in fact, my aunt's house (whose name I was still having trouble remembering... I think it's Carol?), I walked freely upstairs into the master bedroom, and found no one.

"Dammit!" I yelled, disappointed. "What am I supposed to do now?"

I stayed in the house for another hour, just exploring, looking for traces of my parents. I figured that I should probably go soon, and report what I found back to Sasuke, but I liked being there. Seeing the pictures of my family make me feel like almost nothing had changed.

Finally, I left, and made my long trek back to Sasuke's parent's house. It took me a few more hours, because I didn't have the best sense of direction and kept getting lost. Finally, when it was about eight in the morning, I managed to reach the house.

* * *

Everyone was already up when I returned, even Naruto. When I passed through the front door and came into the room where they were, I saw Sasuke look at me briefly - did he look relieved? No... - and then focus again on his family.

Itachi was currently telling a very long-winded story about how he bought a large company (he's nice, but I'd notice that he gets carried away sometimes), which Mr. Uchiha was listening to intently. "And then I said, 'You have two options, you can either go bankrupt, or sell it to me!' And now I own it!" He continued.

Naruto seemed to be focusing more on the food in front of him than Itachi. Sasuke picked at a loose string on the shirt he was wearing.

After that, they opened presents - nothing special actually, I guess if you're like Sasuke and Itachi you already have everything you need, but Naruto did get a very interesting gift card for Ramen, I didn't know you could get those...

Thanks to Sasuke's desire to spend as little of time as possible with his family, our flight was scheduled for that evening.

"I'll see you at home, little brother." Itachi said with a wink. I assumed that he wouldn't actually be there, but it was just a guess.

Sasuke's father nodded before Sasuke left, and said, "Be safe, son." It was probably one of the nicest things I'd heard him say. To Sasuke, anyway.

Sasuke's mother's reaction was better, she flung her arms around him and whispered, "I'll miss you so much." I could hear her say.

"Then why did you let him go in the first place?" I wanted to ask her, but decided against it.

* * *

When we got back, I told Sasuke all about my little adventure at night. "No one was there." I said, frustrated, "But I think they were just on vacation or something!"

He nodded, "Let me do some more research, maybe when they get back I can contact them."

Ever since we got back, Sasuke seemed to be even more earnest about helping me. I wasn't sure why he was suddenly more eager, maybe he was tired of being followed around by a probably-dead girl. Whatever the reason, I didn't care. I wanted to be back more than ever.

It was almost New Years Eve, and Sasuke had been invited to a party at Neji Hyuga's house.

"You should go!" I told him. It had been four days since we'd gotten back, and all Sasuke had done was research about me, watched movies with Naruto, and gone grocery shopping.

"Are you always this boring?" I complained, laying on the floor of his room.

"I'm not boring." He scoffed, "Maybe you just have a short attention span."

He got me on that one.

"Well, I still think you should go." I said, "Take Naruto with you. It'll be fun."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but ended up going.

"You know, you could go without me." He said, before we left. "It wouldn't matter either way."

"Oh, shut up." I told him, but I couldn't stop smiling. After spending most of my time with boys, I was ready to see Ino, even if she couldn't see me.

* * *

"TEME, YOU CAME!" said Naruto when Sasuke opened the door to Neji's large house.

"You don't have to yell, Naruto." Sasuke replied.

I was giddy, my excitement building on the car ride there, until I was literally bouncing in my seat.

"Hey, Sasuke." Ino said, from behind Naruto. "Glad you could make it!"

She seemed to be completely sober. That was odd, usually at parties like this Ino was usually seen with a drink in her hand.

Before I could contemplate this, however, Karin appeared.

"Sasuke!" She said, "I wasn't expecting you." Unlike Ino, she had obviously been drinking, which had made her even more flirty towards Sasuke.

"Stay away from her." I warned Sasuke.

He gave me a look.

Thankfully, Sasuke managed to avoid Karin, and hang around with my friends. That way, I could keep an eye on him and be around the people I liked.

"So, Ino." One of Ino's old cheer leading friends who had been hanging around said, "Have you thought about coming back onto the team?"

Ino shook her head. "Nah, I have to focus on my grades. I'm studying to become a doctor."

The girl scoffed. "It doesn't mean that you had to give up your social life. This is the only party you've been to in _months_."

"Don't you remember what I was like last year?" Ino said, "I partied all the time, and my grades sucked. If it wasn't for Sakura-" she suddenly choked up, and her eyes filled with tears.

Shikamaru, who had been standing nearby, noticed this sudden change in Ino's mood. "Come on, we're leaving." He said, and started to lead her away.

Ino's friend seemed shocked, "Oh my God, Ino, I'm so sorry!" She said.

At the mention of my name, I had sprung up from where I was perched on an empty chair. "Sasuke!" I shouted, "Sasuke, she said my name! You have to ask her what happened, you _have_ to!"

Sasuke, to my disbelief, shook his head. It was part of our agreement of him helping me that he would still look as normal as possible. I guess bombarding Ino with questions counted as an abnormality.

Furious nonetheless, I followed Ino and Shikamaru outside. Shikamaru hugged her, and she cried freely onto his shoulder.

"I miss her so much." She said, her voice shaking. "I miss her, Shikamaru."

"Me too." He said, stroking her hair.

When she stopped crying, they sat on the porch steps together and looked out at the yard. I could hear faint laughter coming from inside the house.

"It's hard to believe that it's been a year." Ino whispered, her head resting on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I know." He said.

"I'm RIGHT HERE!" I screamed. "Why can't you hear me! Ino, I'm right here!"

They didn't answer, of course. I felt like crying, but there were no tears. There was pain, though. It felt like my chest was breaking in half.

They left after that, but I remained on the porch. It had been one of the first times that I had heard my friends mention me. Given, there were tears involved, but they had mentioned me.

I had to figure out what was going on.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sakura. My name is Sakura. _

But why couldn't I remember the rest of it?

Ever since the New Years party, Sasuke had seemed to strengthen his resolve to figure out who I was. What happened to me. I did too, after seeing Ino cry like that.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, the night before Sasuke (and I, if I was still living a normal life) were required to return to school, and Sasuke was eating one of his customary salads. It was just us that night, and we were both deep in thought.

In addition to being more determined to help me, Sasuke was also a lot quieter.

Sakura... Sakura..._. _I strained my mind for memories that would help me out.

And then, like seeing the sunlight after weeks of being stuck in the dark, it came to me.

"Haruno!" I jumped up, startling Sasuke.

"Erm, what?" He said, after recovering slightly.

"That's my last name!" I shouted, "Haruno! Haruno Haruno Haruno!"

Eyes widening, Sasuke ran to get a pen and paper. After writing it down he said, "This will help, Sakura. I think I can find your parents!"

"Well what are you waiting for!" I said, giddy with excitement and some terror (what would I find?). "Look them up! Hurry!"

Sasuke did what I said without protesting this time. I felt a little bad that he had barely eaten anything all day, but my eagerness to see my family overruled it; I waited impatiently as he booted up his laptop.

"Sakura." Sasuke said seriously.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Before I do this, I just want to warn you... what we find... it might not be what you're hoping for."

I rolled my eyes, "Well obviously. I'm possibly dead right now!"

"I just don't want you to be extremely disappointed if we find something bad." He replied. Was it just me, or did he look concerned for a second?

"It's okay." I insisted. "I'd rather know what happened to me, to my family, even if it's bad. Nothing can be worse than not knowing."

"Okay." He said hesitantly.

I watched as he typed in a few things. Sasuke's face was nice, I'd noticed. Of course he was beautiful, there was really no other way to put that. But it was his expressions that interested me. After spending so much time together, he had begun to let his guard down when I was around; instead of scowling or looking bored and aloof, Sasuke often looked thoughtful, even confused at what I said sometimes.

I liked it the best when he smiled-

"Sakura." Sasuke said, breaking me out of my reverie, "I found something."

I jumped up out of the chair I had been sitting in, and peered over his shoulder at the computer screen. "What did you find out?"

"Well, I keep finding articles about your father's medical prowess."

"Not surprising."

"But there's something else. Sakura, you're father is dead."

* * *

I sat on Ino's front porch, looking out into the night. It was freezing outside, and I would have been cold if everything had been normal. Consequently, I was fine.

When Sasuke had told me the news of my father, I had bolted out of the house as fast as I could. I hadn't even realized I had been headed to Ino's house until I got there, and even then she wasn't home yet.

As I waited for my best friend to come back - I needed to see her, even if she couldn't see me - I tried to sort through the memories that had suddenly rushed back at Sasuke's words. Memories of my father in a hospital bed looking fragile and unlike himself. Memories of my mother crying every night and trying to hide it from me. Crying myself to sleep sometimes. More memories came even faster - Ino looking concerned, my father's sad smile as he told us he didn't think he would make it, watching his casket numbly at the funeral, and my mother's blank look afterward - flooding into my head and making me cry out, but no one would hear.

Why did everything suddenly seem so clear?

My thoughts were interrupted when Ino appeared. Again, I noticed how she appeared more mature. The Ino I remembered only cared about things like cheer-leading and boys. I always had to constantly get her to focus on schoolwork, get her to focus on anything important, really. It was because of me that she even passed 10th grade really, but now she was different. She studied hard and didn't go to parties as much. She quit the cheer-leading team and was now taking AP Classes - and doing well, I might add. I was so proud of her, but I couldn't figure out why she had changed so much.

"Hey, Mom." Ino greeted her mother at the door, and then continued upstairs to her bedroom. I had been there so many times it was as familiar as my own room, in a way.

I watched her as she took out her books - this time a Pre-Cal one, and began to start her homework.

"I miss you so much, you know." I told her. "I wish I could still talk to you, Ino. I need to know what happened to me."

She continued studying as always, but I was used to it by now.

"I hope that if this all gets fixed - even though there's a really slim chance - that you'll tell me how you and Shikamaru started going out. I didn't even know you guys liked each other!"

Ino was now working studiously on question #3.

"Anyway, this isn't what I came here for." I said, "I really just need to talk to you, even if you can't see me." It all came pouring out then, what I was, what I had been doing, Sasuke's life and why I didn't understand why I felt the need to be involved in it, who Sasuke was (what he could see), how frustrated I was with being stuck like this, how much I missed everyone even though I was there all along. "I just wish there was a way to communicate with you." I said.

And then it hit me. Once, when I had gotten really aggravated with Sasuke when he still wasn't talking to me, I managed to make a door slam in his face. It had surprised both of us, and he told me later that the spirits he saw normally couldn't do that. Of course, that had exhausted me, and I felt like I was fading a bit. But maybe I had gotten stronger. One time wouldn't hurt, right?

The only problem was that I wasn't sure how to recreate it.

I searched around the room, looking for something I was sure I could move. I spotted the princess-themed snow globe I had given to Ino on her tenth birthday, when she was still into that kind of stuff. It was a little chipped - I couldn't believe she still had it. Maybe she would get the message.

Focusing hard on the snow globe, I tried to push it a little with my hand.

Nothing happened.

I made several more attempts, none of them successful.

I felt myself getting frustrated. "Think, Sakura. How did I do it the last time?" Was there some sort of special way to do it? I didn't know, couldn't ask others like me for help. I didn't even know if there were others like me.

I tried again, swiping my hand across the top of it - my hand passed through, doing nothing.

Furious with myself for believing that it would work, I shouted. "DAMMIT! Am I supposed to live like this forever!" In my anger, I kicked the nightstand the snow globe was on; my shoe collided with it with a satisfying thump, making me feel a bit better. Kicking things did that for me sometimes-

Wait.

Ino turned around, startled. "Mom?"

I did it! And I wasn't even that tired!

"Ino!" I shouted, "Ino, it's me! Sakura!"

Ino looked at the table for a few seconds, bemused, and then shrugging she turned back to her homework.

"No! No, Ino wait!" I said. I felt panicked all of a sudden, I needed to do that again, quick.

I tried concentrating on becoming solid. This time, I tried moving just the snow globe again. To my surprise, it moved a little. I had to hold on to this - I moved it a little more. "Ino!" I shouted, "Look, Ino, I'm doing it!"

Ino turned around again, and saw the globe moving. "Shit!" She exclaimed, and stood up.

"No, wait!" I said, "Look, Ino, Ino it's me - it's Sakura!"

Ino shook her head. "S-sakura?" she said in the smallest voice I had ever heard, "Sakura, is that you?"

"Yes! Yes!" I was jumping up and down. My hold on the snow globe disappeared, and I felt the exhaustion of what I had just done.

Ino shook her head, "No. It can't be. I must be tired or something."

I was too busy running back to Sasuke's house to care, I had managed to contact Ino! Given, I was pretty tired, but I had succeeded, and that was enough for now.

* * *

"Wait," Sasuke said, "You're telling me you _moved a snow globe?"_ It was almost one o' clock at night - I had been at Ino's house longer that I thought, and I had to wake Sasuke up to tell him my news. We were now in his room, sitting on his bed. Sasuke's hair was still messy from sleep; I liked it that way, it made him look more vulnerable, like the little boy that I saw in the picture.

"Yes!" I cried triumphantly, "and she said my name! She knew it was me, Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked thoughtful. "Interesting. Like I said before, you're the only, well, whatever you are, capable of doing that."

I flopped onto the bed, now looking at the ceiling. "How great would it be if I could just be normal again?" I looked at him, and was surprised to find him looking back at me. Since I was around him almost all the time, Sasuke had begun to let his guard down around me, and I found myself doing the same thing for him.

"It would be great." He agreed, and smiled slightly. I loved it when he smiled.

"Thanks, Sasuke." I said, after a moment, "You know, for helping me. I know you came here to get away from people... from _things_ like me. You didn't have to help me."

He thought for a moment, "I wanted to help you." He said finally, "You weren't like the things I was seeing. They were evil, and enjoyed tormenting me. You're not like that." He paused for a second, "And you're not a 'thing', Sakura. That I'm sure of."

Touched, I reached for his hand. I rested mine on top of his lightly - I wished I could feel it, but like everything I touched these days, I felt nothing. "Thank you." I said again, "I'm really happy I met you, Sasuke. I just wish it was under different circumstances."

I couldn't decipher the look he gave me, if I were still normal, I may have blushed. But I wasn't normal, not anymore.

"You're welcome." He said, quietly.

I left him after that - it was late, after all. For the first time in months, I felt hope.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope you liked this chapter! As I have said before (at least, I think) I do like constructive criticism, and I welcome it. :) So thank you!

Please review, and tell me what you think about this chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **


	6. Chapter 6

_I sit at lunch, bored. Ino is talking to Karin - they're friends now, for some reason, and I can't stand it. Can't she see that Karin hates my guts? _

_"I'd like you to come to my party on Saturday, Ino." Karin smirks, "We all know how fun you are." She ignores me while she says it. I can tell what she's thinking: freak. It's true that I've never been the partying type. I'd rather do things like stay home and study or go jogging. But that never mattered to Ino. _

_Now she's constantly partying. She almost always invites me along with her, promising a "good time", but I never go. She's been worrying me lately. Once she showed up at my house drunk. I had stayed up all night with her, holding her hair back while she vomited into the toilet. It was terrible. _

_"I'm game." Ino smiles, and her whole face lights up, probably imagining the "fun" they'll be having. Karin continues to ignore me, which I'm fine with. _

_I end up going to the party, which, from what I hear at class is going to be outrageous. The rumors themselves disturb me, and I resolve to go with Ino to keep her out of trouble. _

_When I'm there, it's like nothing I've ever been to before. I'm wearing a short skirt and a tight-fitting top - something Ino forced me into before we left her house. "Everyone dresses like this, Sakura." she had said, "Live a little." I gaze at her as we walk through the door, looking older and immature at the same time. I look at the large crowd of people inside the house, dancing and drinking, and doing who knows what. Ino seems unfazed, even excited. I follow her inside, thinking it's a bad idea. _

_Later, I'm drinking something alcoholic out of a cup that Ino handed me. After a biting remark from one of Karin's friends about how I was a boring person (in worse language), I'm desperate to prove them wrong. I can't lose Ino. I end up dancing in the crowd with an unfamiliar boy. I've lost track of where Ino is - she left half an hour ago, to my dismay._

_When Ino finds me again, I'm not myself. I'm laughing uncontrollably, and acting a fool. Somehow, we end up outside, and I'm running, knocking into people. _

_When the car strikes me, I end up sprawled on the ground. Something warm pools around my head, and everything is a glittering blur. I see wisps of faces, circling around me. "Sakura!" Ino's voice calls, "Sakuraaa!" _

_"It's all my fault." I hear her voice say while everything goes black, "All my fault..."_

* * *

"Sakura?" Sasuke eyed me curiously, "Are you okay?"

I snapped out of the memory I had suddenly reclaimed, and nodded. "I think so." Sasuke rewarded me with a confused stare, so I elaborated, "I just remembered the accident that made me like this. I think I'm dead, Sasuke."

After I recalled everything I just experienced, Sasuke considered it. "The outlook doesn't sound good."

"I don't want to be like this." I said. "What if I'm stuck like this forever?"

"You won't be." Sasuke replied, but he wasn't certain. How could he be?

"You could always ask them." I suggested, "Ino and Shikamaru and the others. What happened to me." I said this hopefully, knowing fully well that it had been an agreement between Sasuke and me from the beginning that he wouldn't have to mention it to them. They were his friends now, and he had come here for a normal life. I knew that, and, out of desperation, I had agreed.

Now I was hoping that things had changed.

"I can't, Sakura." He replied. "You know why."

I said I understood, although I wished he would do it. For me. His friend.

He just sighed, and went into his room to get ready for school.

The rest of the day was sluggish and boring. I alternated between following Sasuke, Ino, and Shikamaru, depending on what class I wanted to be in. That's one advantage of this state, at least, a variety in my classes.

At lunch, Karin was nowhere to be seen. "Good riddance." I said, hovering behind Ino who was now studiously reading her AP History book. How did she get this way, I wondered.

I thought about that night a week and a half ago, when I communicated with her. I _knew _I did. If Sasuke would just man up and ask her about me, things would be so much easier.

"Sasuke." I said, "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

He glanced at me for a second, but in that look I see, "Are you crazy?"

"Oh c'mon," I whined, "It's not like anything interesting is going on, and we can talk outside. It's raining, Sasuke. No one's going to be out there."

"Excuse me." Sasuke finally said to everyone, "I'll be right back."

We walked outside in silence, finally ending up under a covering a short distance away from the door. Sasuke pulled out his cell phone, so it looked like he was making a call. Clever.

"You have to tell Ino." I insisted. "Please. I'm begging you. She heard me that night!"

"Why don't you just tell her, then?" He answered, sounding irritated.

"You know why." I said bitterly, quoting what he had told me that morning. If I made too much of an effort, I felt like I would disappear.

"We made a deal, Sakura." His voice rose a little, "I'm trying to help you out as much as I can-"

"Excuse me." Ino said from behind him. I had been so concentrated on what Sasuke was saying, I didn't have time to warn him that she had come outside. I hadn't even noticed her. "Did you say 'Sakura'?"

* * *

"Yes." Sasuke said, indicating to his phone. "Hold on." He said to Ino. To his phone, he pretended to say goodbye to the other "Sakura".

"Is everything okay?" He turned his attention back to Ino, who still looked a little shocked.

"Y-yes." She stammered. "I came to ask you if I could see your English notes." She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were talking on the phone. You know someone named Sakura?"

Sasuke nodded, although I knew he was lying. "Yes, someone I know from Connecticut. Why?"

Ino smiled (it looked forced), "No reason. I'm just going to... go back inside."

"Come on, Sasuke!" I urged, "This is your chance!"

Before Ino reached the door (and I was about to storm off angrily), Sasuke said, "Sakura Harano."

Ino turned around, looking surprised again, "What did you say?" She whispered.

"That was your friends name, right? Sakura." Sasuke said.

"How did you-" Ino turned pale, "Did Naruto tell you about that?"

"Er, somewhat." Sasuke sighed.

"Tell her, Sasuke! Tell her I'm here!" I said, "Or at least talk to her about me, please! I need to know what happened to me!"

Sasuke gave me an exasperated look.

"What are you looking at?" Ino said quietly.

"Nothing." Sasuke said hastily, "Sakura... what happened to her? Naruto wouldn't say."

Ino shook her head, "You have a lot of nerve, Sasuke." She seemed to consider turning away, but to my relief, she didn't. "Sakura was my best friend." She said, "But she's... not here anymore."

"What happened?" Sasuke said again.

"It's a long story." Ino sighed.

"Tell me. Please." Sasuke replied.

Maybe it was something about the way he sounded - understanding, and sort of desperate, but Ino gave in. "Okay," she said, "but you're probably going to hate me after this."

* * *

"Sakura and I had been best friends since we met in third grade. Some of the kids were teasing me for failing this test - it was stupid. Sakura defended me, and we've been friends ever since. We did everything after that; I was always over at Sakura's house, because my family had problems. We were like sisters - closer, even.

"It was like that for awhile, until Sakura's dad died when we were twelve. It was some sort of cancer that they caught at the last minute. How ironic, right? For a doctor to die of something he had been trying to prevent. Sakura was devastated, of course. It happened so fast. I mean, Dr. Harano was gone a lot, but whenever he was home, Sakura adored him. He always brought her all sorts of stuff from where he was. She wanted to be just like him.

"I didn't know what to say, but after being sad for a couple of weeks, Sakura bounced back quickly. She acted like nothing was wrong - if anything, she started doing any better at school. When I asked her, worried, if she was okay, she just smiled and said, 'Of course!' like it was only natural. I've always admired her for that.

"It was around that time that my dad left us. He had a second family the whole time - they even had a dog! We never got to have pets... Anyway, Mom was devestated. The fighting was horrible, and I couldn't trust my dad anymore. He was suddenly alienated from the family. I haven't spoken to him since he left a few days later. My older sister left a week after my dad to go to college, and I was left alone with my Mom, and our broken family.

"Once we turned thirteen (the year I decided to become a cheerleader), I became popular. It was like Karin and her friends suddenly wanted me to be part of their group. They always wanted me at their parties and stuff, and since my life at home was so bad, I liked it - it gave me something to do, to forget everything. I ate it up, thinking that there must be something about me that was cool enough for them. God, I was vain. Sakura warned me though, she said, 'I don't like what your new friends do. I'm worried about you.'

"'Don't worry about it, Sakura.' I rolled my eyes, 'It's just a party.'

"I ended up going to more and more parties, until it was common for me to be preoccupied on weekends with them. I always offered to take Sakura with me, but she was more of a stay-home-and-study kind of person. We were still best friends, but we were a lot different by the time we got to high school. Unlike Sakura, my grades suffered. She always got on my case, though, I think that's why I didn't fail out already, honestly.

"It was last year when it happened. Karin said something to Sakura about not being exciting enough... something like that. Anyway, I could tell that Sakura felt like she had something to prove to me. But instead of being a good friend and saying something like, 'Don't listen to her, Sakura. She's just being a bitch.' I pressured her to come with me to the party that weekend. I-when we got there, I just left her to fend for herself. Some guy on the football team was flirting with me, and I just... I thought she would understand, you know?

"When I found her again, she was drunk. Someone must have spiked her drink, because I know Sakura didn't drink. I was there when she got hit by the car. It was just going too fast, and she was going after someone's stupid purse or something. It was the worst day of my life, seeing her like that. I was so afraid she was going to die- I've never seen so much blood. But she's still alive, technically. Sakura's in a coma in the hospital right now. The doctors' said they don't know if she'll ever wake up."

Ino was crying now, not even trying to hide it. I could see her slowly deteriorating throughout her story, sure that she would break. And now she had, and I couldn't help her. "It's all my fault!" She sobbed, "If I hadn't taken her to that stupid party- she wouldn't be like this!"

"Oh, Ino." I said, "I didn't know!"

"It wasn't your fault." Sasuke said.

Ino ignored him. "I'm trying to make it up to her, though. When I figured out Sakura probably wouldn't wake up, I made a promise to myself. I quit cheerleading - it's not even fun to me anymore - and I'm working as hard as I can in school. I'm going to become a doctor... because Sakura didn't have the chance to." She wiped her eyes. "My relation ship with my mom is even better. She's actually started dating someone." Ino shook her head, "It's not enough... but it's something."

I stood there speechless. I didn't know Ino had felt so bad about my accident, that she thought it was her fault. "That's why you changed so much." I said.

But at the same time, I had finally learned what had happened to me. I was in a coma - a vegetable, even. But how did I get like this? And would I even be able to go back to normal?

My thoughts of this vanished, however, when I heard what Sasuke said. "Sakura's been here all along."

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update! I've been so busy with school, and this chapter turned out to be really hard to write. I tried to make it longer than usual, so maybe that can help hold you over until next time (I'm going to update more, I promise! And I WILL finish this fanfiction!).

I just want to take the time to say thank you so much for yoru reviews, they make me really happy. :) I hope you'll like this chapter and tell me what you think about it! If there's any grammatical errors, or mess-ups please tell me, and I will fix it! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, because if I did, Sasuke would have never worn that stupid-looking rope belt. -_-


	7. Chapter 7

I listened as Sasuke explained everything. How he had been seeing things his whole life, how he was basically sent here by his parents to "become normal"... how he met me here.

I could tell that Ino was skeptical at first - anyone would be. She didn't walk away or tell him he was lying like I thought she might, though. She just listened. I wanted her to believe what Sasuke was saying more than anything.

When Sasuke was done, she said. "I don't know what to say, except... how am I supposed to believe this? Don't you hear how crazy this sounds?" The bell for class had started half an hour ago, but they didn't seem to care. Talking about me was apparently more important, I noted happily.

Sasuke looked to me in a brief flash. I knew it was going to take awhile to get used to acknowledging I was there around others. I told him what to say to convince Ino, "Last year, you and Sakura had a fight about you ignoring everything for parties. You were supposed to do something that Friday, but you had already said yes to some party at Kiba's house, and Sakura overheard and accused you of not caring. She said you were a selfish person. She's been regretting it ever since, Ino."

It was true, before the night that I had gotten hit by that car, Ino and I had had the worst fight of all, and we had said some terrible things in our anger. I felt so bad about it.

Ino still looked disbelieving, so Sasuke cotinued, "When you and Sakura were twelve your favorite movie was The Princess Bride, you watched it every weekend and acted it out. You're deathly allergic to peanuts. You hate your voice, but Sakura's always been trying to convince you to try out for the musical-"_  
_

"It really is her." Ino said, her voice breaking, "But... how...?"

"We don't really know." Sasuke said.

"Tell her I miss her," I said, feeling I could cry too, but the state I was in wouldn't allow it, "and it's not her fault - none of it was. Please, Sasuke."

He told her.

"Sakura." Ino said, "Oh my God, what happened to you?" Her voice was close to a whisper.

Before Sasuke could say anything else, however, a Principal Tsunade found them. "What are you doing?" She eyed them suspiciously.

"Talking." Ino said in a falsely-cheery voice, "I guess we just lost track of time."

Tsunade eyed them suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

They were given detention, but on their way back to class Ino whispered, "We're not done talking, Sasuke." before she went into her classroom.

"Thank you." I told Sasuke, once we were back inside his AP Physics class. He didn't answer, of course, since there were people in there, but I think I saw him nod a little.

I stayed with him for the rest of the day. Usually I would alternate between following him and Ino around, but after Ino knew that I was in this condition, I felt like she needed some time alone to think.

Ino and Sasuke ended up getting detention for an hour and a half after class. I thought it was a little harsh, but ever since Tsunade had become our Principal she had been pretty adamant about students not skipping class. When we (Sasuke and me) walked into the room, Ino was waiting, along with that creepy kid Shino and some other girl I didn't know. Kakashi sat at a desk, reading - definitely not paying attention. It would be boring.

I stayed with them though. Ino seemed to have calmed down a little, and was now looking at Sasuke very pointedly. Sasuke ignored her.

I put my hand on Ino's shoulder, even though I knew she couldn't feel it. "Thank you for believing me." I said, even though common sense told me she wouldn't hear.

I waited through detention with them. It was partly my fault anyway, and I didn't want to leave Ino, now that she knew where I was. When it ended, Ino followed Sasuke out of the room.

"I have a question for Sakura." Ino said, once they were far enough away from everyone else.

"What is it?"

"Was that you in my room a few weeks ago?" Ino said, addressing me now. I wondered how silly she must have felt talking to what appeared to be thin air.

"Yes." Sasuke said, answering for me - he already knew the answer.

"But how did she do that?"

He told her about how I had figured out if I'm emotional enough, and if I concentrate, then I can make objects move or make people hear me. However, he also explained how doing it too much tired me out, and made me feel faint. I couldn't explain it, but it was obvious I wouldn't be able to communicate fluently in that way.

They went along like that - Ino followed Sasuke to Itachi's car in the parking lot (Itachi was gone again, giving Sasuke free use of his car), and wouldn't leave him alone until he answered all of her questions. There were a lot - it took about an hour to get done with some of them.

Finally, Ino said, "We've got to find away to get her back, Sasuke."

"I know," Sasuke said, "We're working on it."

"I'll help too." Ino decided, "We'll figure this out."

"Tell her thank you for me." I said, even though I had been mostly listening through the whole conversation.

Sasuke told her.

Ino had to go then, but she promised that she would look into helping me. "I'm so happy you're okay." She said before she left, "Well, okay. You're not okay. But I'm glad you're not dead at least. We _will_ get you out of this... state or whatever it is, Sakura. Don't worry." I felt comforted, even though I wasn't sure how they were going to accomplish this.

"Thank you." I said again in the car on the way back.

After a moment, Sasuke said, "I think it was going to happen one way or another, so you don't have to thank me."

"No, really." I said earnestly, "Thank you so much for what you're doing for me. I know you came here to get away from... people like me. It really means a lot." I paused and looked out of the window; the sky was gray with clouds, and I was sure it would snow soon. It was both nice and disappointing to not have to dress warm for the cold weather. I mostly just stayed in the same outfit I was in the day I got in the accident - the jeans and t-shirt, not the scandalous outfit from the party, thankfully.

"It's fine." Sasuke insisted. And then, "You're not like the others I've seen. In fact, after I met you I stopped seeing any of the... bad ones." His eyes flickered to me, and then back to the road, "I think it's you."

"What do you mean?"

"I think something about you is keeping them away. So I'm better off than I was before. Thank you."

I shook my head, "But we don't even know if that's me." I was secretly delighted though. We sat in a comfortable silence until I said, "I think we would have been friends if I was normal. It sort of makes me wish it was that way, instead of, well, this."

Sasuke agreed, but said, "You won't be like this forever. Not if I can help it."

Maybe it was because I had been hearing those words a lot today, but I actually believed him.

* * *

Karin was back at the lunch table. Apparently she had been sick - I only knew that because she had been boasting about how much weight she'd lost to her friends.

"Why do you have to be friends with her friends?" I complained to Ino, who was talking to Shikamaru. Even though she couldn't hear me, she knew I was there. That was enough for now.

Sasuke and Ino hadn't told Shikamaru about my condition yet. Sasuke said he wanted to do it gradually, and he definitely didn't want everyone to know about his ability to see, well, dead people, and Ino promised she wouldn't tell until he was ready.

Which reminded me, "Why didn't you tell Naruto about seeing these things?" I asked Sasuke, who was currently picking at a salad. Naruto sat next to him, talking loudly to Kiba about some football thing I didn't really care about.

He gave me a look that said _later, _which I obviously know. "Okay." I said, "But don't think I'm going to forget about this!"

"So Sasuke," Karin simpered, "are you going to Tenten's party this weekend?"

"Er, no." Sasuke said, "I'm not really into going to parties. I mostly just stay home..." Even though I had urged him to feel free to tell her to beat it, Sasuke had opted for a more polite response. Too polite, in my opinion.

Thankfully, before Karin could say anything else, Gaara interrupted - something about Physics blah blah, nothing I hadn't learned before.

Karin continued to try to flirt with Sasuke for the rest of the day; it was both funny and irritating to watch. I wondered if Sasuke had ever dated anyone, because as far as I could tell he had always been bothered by things like me - it was a wonder he kept his 4.0 GPA. But then I realized, now that he couldn't see anything (well, except me), Sasuke could go out with anyone he wanted to.

For some reason, the thought of Sasuke dating someone bothered me. I told myself that it was because he wouldn't have as much time to spend on helping me, which would just waste time.

But still, it bothered me.

Ino followed Sasuke (and me) to Itachi's car after school again that day. "How is Sakura?" she asked, quiet enough so that no one could hear her.

"Fine." I chirped beside Sasuke. He delivered my message wearily - I had been giving him suggestions of what to tell Karin, many of which had gotten me annoyed looks from Sasuke.

"That's it?" Ino complained, "C'mon Sakura, I haven't talked to you in months! What did you think about what Hinata was wearing today?"

I answered her eagerly, until Sasuke finally put a stop to this "girl-talk" as he said.

"Tell her that we're going to talk about her and Shikamaru when I get my body back." I told Sasuke. It came out as a joke, but I was serious. I had to know about how my friends were suddenly dating.

Ino laughed, "Nosey! But okay, I'll definitely tell you all about it."

She had to leave after that, leaving Sasuke and me alone.

* * *

"So I was thinking..." I said a few days later when Sasuke was eating dinner (take-out that Naruto had brought him).

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"How about you take me to go see my body?"

Sasuke almost choked on his dim sum. "Why would I do that?" He said.

I didn't think he'd react this way, "Because!" I said, "What if I can go back to normal if I see it?" It came out worse than it sounded in my head, but my theory was maybe if I saw/touched my body that was in a coma, I would return to it and be able to live a normal life. Then I could go find my mom, and go to school.

Everything would be so easy.

"I don't know." Sasuke said, "What if it's- I mean, what if you don't like what you see?"

"What?" I was confused, "What do you think would happen?"

"I just don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't happen." Sasuke said, "I mean, in my research I've never heard of a case in which someone in your state goes back to normal by seeing their body."

"You've never heard of a case like me, period." I pointed out.

"How would we get in the hospital?" Sasuke said, exasperated.

I sighed, "I don't know. I always just got in whenever I went to see my dad; everyone just sort of... knew me. But I don't know how you would get in."

"If you find a way I'll go with you." He said, "If you're so adamant, then why don't you just go yourself?"

"I dunno." I responded, "I guess I'm not ready to see myself like that without anyone with me."

Sasuke nodded. "Why don't we talk to Ino? I'm sure she's been there enough to know where you are."

"Fine." I said, and then, "Have you figured out where my mom went yet?" I had gotten Sasuke to ask Ino about it and her answer wasn't very encouraging:

"I don't know." She had said, "Sakura's mom just kind of disappeared. I think I heard that she went to go live with her sister, but... I don't know. I'm sorry, but we'll find her!"

That was the response I was getting lately, _I don't know, but we'll do this. _Sometimes I just wished that everything would just solve itself already. Sometimes I was angry with my mom for leaving too, but that usually never solved anything so I tried not to, but it was hard.

"I have to go to the hospital." I insisted, "You need to get Ino to take us - or just me, if you don't want to go. I really don't mind."

Sasuke sighed, "Okay, I'll ask. Just... don't be too upset if nothing happens, okay?"

I promised that I wouldn't.

The next day, I found myself at Leaf Hospital after school. It was where my father used to work, and so I knew that area well. Just the sight of the familiar place was enough to make me long even more for things to go back to normal - not to mention make me miss my father more than I already did.

Ino was wearing a green coat that made her eyes stand out more than ever. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck and said, "Are you ready?"

"Let's go." Sasuke replied (he had, in the end, decided to come).

We walked through the automatic doors, into the unknown.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews, a lot of them made me laugh. xD Now that school's started again, I'm extremely busy, but I'm going to try and update somewhat regularly! I tried to write another long chapter to appease you, but I'm afraid it might be a little bit boring compared to the one before, but don't worry! The story's going to get more exciting in the next few chapters!

Anyway, please tell me what you think, hopefully in the form of reviews! I really love reading them! And thanks! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura - I couldn't think of this girl as me, not yet, anyway - was pale and had obviously lost some weight. I watched as the girl's chest rose and fell, breathing steadily. If it wasn't for the assortment of tubes sticking out of her, I would have thought she was dead.

_She is me. _I reminded myself, but to no avail.

"Hey Sakura." Ino said, moving to the girl's side and taking her hand. I wondered why I didn't feel anything. Did she do this often?

Sasuke stood in the doorway, watching me. His face seemed torn between worry, and surprise. Probably at seeing my _real_ body. I couldn't blame him; I was too.

I walked to the other side of the girl's bed, and touched her hand. Nothing happened. I touched her face - it felt cool, just like her hand. Nothing was happening. I turned to Sasuke, "It's not working." I told him.

He shook his head, "I didn't think so."

Ino looked up, "What?"

He explained what was happening.

"Damn." Ino muttered, "I was hoping it would work. Keep trying Sakura."

"Hello, there." A kind-looking nurse walked into the room, "Coming to visit again?"

"Yes ma'am." Ino smiled sadly, "I couldn't stay away for long, I guess."

"Good." The nurse smiled back. She looked familiar, had she worked with my father? "Sakura missed you, I can tell."

"It's true." I murmured. Suddenly, I remembered the nurses name: Carrie. She had been a family friend for awhile. Did she come visit me, too?

"It's a shame, what happened." The nurse began tampering with an IV, putting new fluid in. "Especially with what happened to her father a few years before."

"Have you seen Sakura's mom lately?" Ino asked, as she had promised she would.

The nurse's face turned sad, "No. She hasn't been here for months, I think I heard she and her sister are taking a break. Visiting family in Japan."

Behind them, Sasuke's eyes widened. The nurse turned around, "Are you one of Sakura's friends? Nice of you to come visit."

"Yes." Sasuke said, and moved further into the room. He seemed to be less hesitant around my body. "It's my first time... is she...?"

"There hasn't been much improvement," Carrie sighed, "but I'm not giving up hope."

We looked at the girl/Sakura/me for a few minutes in silence. It was extremely surreal to be here - to actually see what everyone else saw. What I looked like. The nurse had to leave after that, said she had to check on other patients, but they could feel free to come visit again soon.

"There's been some debate about whether or not patients in a coma can actually hear you or not." Carrie said, "But I think she can. I talk to her as much as I can, feel free to do that and maybe she'll come around."

When she left, Ino went back to holding my body's hand. "Come on, Sakura." She said, "I know you can do this."

I tried a lot of things: walking directly towards my body, "falling" on it, touching both hands, the face, anything I could think of that would suddenly jolt me back into it. Nothing worked, though. It became clear that if I was going to return to my body, this wasn't the way.

"It's a shame, too." I said, "I was really sure that this would work."

On our way out, Ino suggested something, "You know, I never really believed in this kind of stuff, but... what if we go to a psychic or something? Like a medium? Maybe they would know how to handle this sort of thing..."

"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, "Those people are fakes."

"How could you say that?" Ino said, "When you're one of them?"

Sasuke seemed taken aback, "I wouldn't call it _that. _I don't know what I am."

"It's just a suggestion." Ino replied wryly, "What does Sakura think?"

"I think it's a good idea." I said, "It's an option, at least."

I watched them argue a bit more on that, until Sasuke said that he should go because he hadn't started on his homework yet. Ino agreed, only because she had a Psychology test the next day and needed to study. "I'm not through with this." She warned him, "We're going."

"Whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "We'll talk about this later."

In the car on the way home, I asked him, "What's so bad about going to a medium, or whatever they're called? Why are you so against it?"

Sasuke didn't reply for about a minute, finally he just said, "I feel like I'd be acknowledging... who I am. What I am. The thing that my parents have been denying me about my whole life. I moved here to be normal, how can I just go and find people that may be like me? It goes against everything I've ever believed in."

"But Sasuke," I said, an idea coming to me, "Maybe they can _help_ you. You know, be more in control of your ability. Maybe it's even a gift!"

Sasuke sighed, "I don't know." He said, "Maybe they aren't even like me. Maybe I'm just cursed or something."

"That's not true." I argued, "There are probably a lot of people like you, you just need to learn how to manage your gift."

"It's not a gift." Sasuke said darkly, "It's a curse... those _things _never left me alone. I could never concentrate on anything."

When I asked Sasuke what they did to him, he wouldn't say. It must have been bad, but I decided not to ask him to elaborate. Not today, when I'd already found so much out.

I changed the subject after that, talked a little about what Naruto was up to, and then left him alone to study. Well, not really. I just watched him. Sasuke always looked intense when he was focusing on something, his face was incredibly serious. Like many times before, I noticed how nice he looked. I think my favorite part about him was his smile, though. He only smiled when he was alone with me-

"Do you need something?" He caught me staring at him.

"Oh!" I said, startled, "No, nothing. I was just thinking."

He looked confused for a second, shrugged, and went back to studying for Physics. I sighed, and walked out of the room, trying to ignore what I was feeling.

* * *

"I think I know where your mom is." Sasuke said a few days later.

Those words caught me off guard, "What!" I replied.

"Your mom. I think I found out where she is." Sasuke said slowly, misreading what I had said.

"Where! How long have you known!" I know I was yelling, but what did you expect me to do?

"Sakura, relax." Sasuke sighed, "I just found out last night, but Naruto was over so I had to wait until he left this morning." It was true, Naruto had showed up while Sasuke was eating dinner, demanding that he watch some dumb horror movie with him that I may or may not have watched with them and enjoyed. But that wasn't the point.

"Where is she?" I asked, more calm now.

It turned out that Mom was in a town in Japan with my aunt (from what we heard the other day at the hospital), Sasuke had just gotten more specific information about it. Now, if I wanted to, I could go find her.

Of course there were flaws in that plan.

"How would I even get over there?" I asked him, exasperated now.

"Well..." Sasuke began, "I'm not sure if you should necessarily try and go to your mom. I wouldn't be able to, and we haven't figured out what would happen if we got too far away from each other-"

"We have to go!" I shouted, "This is my _mom, _Sasuke."

After he reasoned with me for a few minutes, I realized that it probably wasn't the best idea for us to go just yet. For one thing, Sasuke needed to stay in school (that I understood), and so did Ino. I wouldn't have anyone to go with me and "translate" (no Sasuke = no communication with Mom). Besides, we weren't even positive if Mom was in Japan. Why did she leave anyway? I had to admit, I was more than a little upset with her for that.

"Promise me we'll go one day." I said suddenly, "If this doesn't all work out, promise me you'll tell her that I'm still here, Sasuke."

He looked at me, a little surprised, and then his expression softened a little, "Okay." He said, "I promise."

"Thank you." I said, really meaning it.

Knowing where my mom was made me feel like I was one step closer to figuring out everything. About what I was, and how I could get back to my life one day. I felt more hopeful, even though things were far from being perfect.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Look! I updated! ;) I'm not really sure how long it's been since I'm too lazy to really keep track right now (I'm actually about to go to sleep), but I think I'm setting a new record! Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to keep updating more regularly! About this chapter, if you see any typos or mistakes please tell me and I'll fix them.

Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them, and I hope you'll continue to review this fanfiction! Please tell me what you think about this chapter! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	9. Chapter 9

"What's up with you and Uchiha?" Shikamaru eyed Ino suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Ino looked confused, "We're friends."

"Tenten said she saw you at the hospital the other day." Shikamaru persisted. Damn, since when was Tenten at the hospital? "What were you doing there with him, Ino?"

Ino sighed, "It's complicated, Shikamaru."

"You've been spending a lot of time together." Shikamaru said, sounding irritated. This surprised me, usually Shikamaru didn't care about much. I guess it was nice to know that he cared about Ino, but still. "Everyone's been noticing. Please, Ino. Tell me what's going on. You aren't-"

_"I'm not cheating on you." _Ino hissed, and took his arm, pulling him in to a nearby classroom, despite his protests.

She explained everything to him then, how I was still alive, just not in my body, and how Sasuke was the only one who could see me. "The only reason we were in the stupid hospital in the first place was to go see Sakura." She explained patiently, "And the only reason I've been spending so much time with him is because he's like... he's like a medium. I can only know what Sakura says through him."

"And you believe that?" Shikamaru said, "He's crazy, Ino!"

"Fine." Ino said, "Let's go talk to him."

It was about ten minutes after school was out. Sasuke's history class was boring me today, so I had left to visit Ino - a good decision on my part, since Ino found Sasuke waiting for me beside his locker. Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw us approach, and probably at the look on Shikamaru's face.

"Tell him what's going on." I said, after Ino explained her situation. "Shikamaru thinks you're crazy now... and that you're having an affair with Ino."

It was then that Shikamaru figured about what I was. Surprisingly, it took less convincing for him than it did Ino - after everything had been explained logically (that was with Sasuke's help, no offense to Ino) he seemed to accept it.

"Damn." He said, finally, "This sucks. Is she here now?" Meaning me.

"Yes." Sasuke said, "She actually told me what was going on before you got here."

Ino laughed, "I didn't know you were following me around!"

"Tell them I say hi!" I insisted, "And that Shikamaru has a lot of explaining to do about him and Ino when I get back!"

Sasuke delivered the message, and Shikamaru smirked, "That's her alright."

And so, another person knew of my existence.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto said a few days later at lunch, "Guess what!"

"What?" Sasuke said, rather unenthusiastically. He had been in a pretty bad mood lately, mostly because his mom kept calling and he had to cover for Itachi not being there (they had this whole thing worked out where Sasuke would say Itachi was at work or just out of the house, and then Itachi would call their mom later on his cell phone from wherever he was - it was a wonder they hadn't gotten caught yet), not to mention he was up all night studying for some English test.

"I'm going on a date!" Naruto, as always, was grinning. Nothing seemed to bother that kid. I hoped that if I returned to my body we could be friends one day, I already felt like I knew him.

"That's great." Sasuke mumbled back, I could tell he was starting to suffer from lack of sleep.

"You need to get some rest." I told him, "You look like a zombie."

"Thanks." Sasuke replied under his breath. Thankfully, Naruto didn't hear. I made a mental note to myself not to talk to Sasuke as much in public when he was this sleep deprived.

"Wait, there's more..." Naruto sounded more hesitant, "You see, the girl I'm going with... she said that her parents won't let her go on a date unless it's a _double _date... and she has this really cute friend ."

"What?" Sasuke said drowsily, "I didn't hear that last part."

"I sort of... said that you would go on a double date with us. She has a really cute friend, Sasuke!" Naruto looked delighted now that he got it out.

Ino and Shikamaru arrived just in time to hear Sasuke's outburst of, "YOU WHAT!"

"Calm down, Uchiha." Shikamaru smirked, "You look like you're about to kill someone." Ever since it had been established that Sasuke was not, in fact, seducing Ino, Shikamaru had gone back to treating him like a friend. Which they were now, I guess.

"Yeah, Sasuke." Ino added, "What's wrong?"

Once the situation had been explained, Shikamaru snorted, "That's it? With who?"

The girl's name was Ami, and she was the friend of Hana, the girl Naruto had asked out. I knew Ami, she was my age and pretty nice from what I could tell, but for some reason I hated her.

"Ami's nice." Ino said, "Come on, what's one date?"

"See Sasuke?" Naruto pleaded, "Even those two think it's a good idea! C'mon!"

For reasons unknown (except maybe not enough sleep), Sasuke said, "Fine. Just leave me alone until then."

"YEAH!" Naruto threw his fist into the air, "I'm gonna go talk to Hana!"

Ino and Shikamaru sat down across from Sasuke. No one had really shown up at the lunch table yet, so they had it to themselves. Sasuke glanced at me, but for some reason, I couldn't say anything. How could he go on a... _date_ when he was supposed to be helping me?

"Is she saying anything?" Ino asked, noticing Sasuke's look.

"No," Sasuke said, "I think this is a first."

"Oh come on Sakura," Ino said, soft enough for only the four of us to hear, "It's just one date, we're going to get you back into your body. Don't you think Sasuke deserves a break?" Okay, how could she tell what I was thinking when she couldn't even see me?

"How did she know I thought that?" I complained, breaking the barrier of silence, "Am I that easy to read? Even when I'm _invisible?_"

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched, like he was going to smile but didn't. "Hey, it's not like I want to do this."

I felt more relieved then. Sasuke didn't even want to go on this stupid date. When it's over, we could get back to what was important.

"Well I think it's good." Ino said, "Let us handle the research for one night, Sasuke. We'll call you if we find anything life-changing."

Tenten and Neji appeared then, so they had to stop talking about me. I understood what Ino was saying, why didn't Sasuke deserve a break? But for some reason, the thought of him going out with another girl was deplorable to me. Did I...? No, that would be stupid. I might not even go back to normal-

My thoughts were interrupted by the very loud return of Naruto, and then I was distracted by something Ino said about Hinata. How was Hinata anyway? I hadn't seen her in awhile...

I didn't think about the whole date ordeal for the rest of the day, and Sasuke never mentioned it. I followed him through his classes like normal, occasionally making comments. Sasuke didn't seem to perk up much either - I guess it was just one of those days.

* * *

On Friday night, Naruto showed up at Sasuke's house. "We're going to meet them at the restaurant!" He said, almost bouncing with excitement. From what I could tell, it seemed like Sasuke was supposed to be set up with Ami. I'm not proud of it, but I found her in one of Ino's classes. She was pretty, with long brown hair and amber eyes. The news that she was going to go out with Sasuke had been spreading around the whole school. Karin was jealous - I guess that some good would come out of this, if any.

Okay, so I followed Ami around, and she was nice, from what I could tell. I guess I was looking for a fault in her, but I couldn't find anything. At least, nothing as blatantly obvious as I could tell from watching Karin. All in all, Ami was _good_, and I hated her for it.

Sasuke sighed, and followed Naruto out the door. I had told him beforehand that I didn't want to go with them, and he gave me a slightly annoyed-reluctant look before he stepped outside the door. I just shrugged, not wanting to say anything.

It only took me a few minutes to get bored. Without Sasuke there, there proved to be nothing to do. I decided to take a walk.

The air was freezing outside, and I wished again that I could feel it. It was funny, this feeling. I could sense that it was cold but I couldn't actually _feel _it. I missed that.

I wasn't sure where I was going. At first I began walking to my old house, the one where my parents and I (and later just my mom and I) lived, but then I stopped. Did I really want to revisit the place that would only remind me of who I wasn't? Of what I was missing?

I began walking towards Ino's house then, but when I got there, I just watched it for a few minutes, and then passed by. I didn't feel like being around people then, even if they couldn't see me.

Then, I just started walking. It didn't matter what direction, because I had plenty of time to get back. Time was meaningless now, because I had no way to spend it, besides pretending. Pretending I was normal. Pretending that things could ever be okay again.

I walked for hours. I lost track of time. For once, it was just me and the night sky. After awhile, the sky began to turn lighter - I kept walking. One good think about this state was that I never grew tired, never needed to rest. I never slept. I guess I wouldn't need to if my real body was in a coma - sleeping all the time.

It took awhile to notice I was fading, but once I noticed, I stopped walking immediately. That feeling came back, the one that I had gotten that time I used too much energy or something trying to communicate with people. I felt like the gravity that was holding me to the earth was deteriorating, and there was nothing to hold me back from floating away. Startled, I sprinted back a few steps. The feeling diminished slightly.

I began to run back in the other direction, terrified. Finally, after what felt like ages, I didn't feel like I was going to disappear. I ended back up at Sasuke's house around noon, gasping for breath even though I didn't feel tired at all from running.

"Sakura?" Sasuke entered the room cautiously, and then, after seeing me on the floor, came running. "What's wrong? What happened? Where have you _been_?" He said, kneeling down beside me.

I was holding onto the floor, still stunned with fear. "I just wanted to walk." I shuddered, and then the story of what happened came out. "I was going to disappear. It was like I was just evaporating." If I had my body back, I would probably be sobbing.

Sasuke looked extremely worried, "This isn't good." He said, "How far did you go?" I told him, it wasn't too far away.

My mind was still racing, what was happening to me? I had been able to get to Connecticut, hadn't I? I had gone with Naruto and Sasuke-

Sasuke.

"Don't freak out, okay?" I said, "But I think there's something... binding me to you."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so this chapter kind of got out of control. I'm not really sure what I think of it yet, lol. Anyway, I'm trying to update sooner! I should be less busy in the next few weeks so hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up by then! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thank you so much for the reviews! I can't tell you how amazing it is to have so many people review my fanfiction and like it, please tell me what you think about this chapter! If I made any major grammar or spelling errors, or if there are any huge inconsistencies with the storyline, please tell me! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	10. Chapter 10

_"Sakura." My mother's voice whispers through the darkness, "Sakura, wake up." _

_I wake up instantly, even though it's six o' clock in the morning and I'm exhausted. "Is Dad okay?" I say, my voice still groggy.  
_

_"Yes." She replies, "Come on." _

_We leave a few minutes later, giving me enough time to throw on some clothes and a coat. The drive to the hospital is surreal, and I feel the worry rise within me. I can barely speak, is my father okay?_

_My father is in the same room that he's always been in. I watch as various medical staff hover around him, checking vital signs, moving around tubes, muttering to one another as they work. Dad looks worse than usual, he's incredibly skinny, his head is bald, and his face looks sunken and tired. I want to run away, but force myself not to. _

_"Hey." He smiles at Mom when she approaches him, "Long time no see." _

_She glares at the doctor standing nearby, "Is he okay? What's going on." _

_"Carrie, could you take Sakura out of the room please? Maybe to the cafeteria?" My father smiles at me as he says this. _

_Carrie, a young new nurse grins and takes my hand. "Let's get you some hot chocolate, hmm?" She says to me. I don't want to leave, but I follow her anyway. _

_I take my hand out of hers as soon as we leave the room. I'm not a child anymore, I think. Why shouldn't I be able to stay and listen to my parents? Carrie's nice though, she makes small talk to me as we walk towards the elevators that will take us down to the floor that the cafeteria's on, telling me tidbits of stories from when she first got here. Ever since Dad became a patient here she's been my favorite nurse. She's new, but she still knows what a legend Dad was. Everyone does. _

_I escape from her as the elevator doors are closing. There are only a few other people in the elevator with us, but I'm fast enough that they can't do anything about it. Carrie calls my name as the elevator doors close. Before anyone can figure out what's going on I run back to my father's room and listen outside the door. My parents are alone now, and I can hear them talking. _

_My mother is crying, "They said you'd have more time. They said-" _

_"I know." Dad says, "They didn't know how badly my condition would worsen. Even I wasn't expecting it." _

_"What am I going to d-do without you?" Mom's voice breaks as she says that last part, "You can't leave me. Don't leave me, please." _

_Dad's voice is sad, but resigned, "Everything will be okay. There's nothing we can do, but you'll be okay. I'll always be with you and Sakura." _

_"How can you believe that?" Her voice grows faint, "That everything's going to be okay?" _

_"Because it's true." He insists. "I'm not going to live much longer, and if there was anything I could do to fix it I would. I don't want to leave you or Sakura, but it's not in my control. You just need to know that I love you, and I'll always be with you." _

_"I love you too." She's crying. I never saw my mom cry until Dad got diagnosed - now she was crying all the time. _

_"Sakura?" Carrie finds me by the door, "Sakura, why did you do that?" She says. _

_I bury my face in my hands and sob._

* * *

"Er..." Sasuke couldn't seem to find anything to say, "Could you possibly explain this a little better, maybe?" He still looked worried, and I couldn't blame him. After I had calmed down enough I had promptly gotten myself off the floor and proceeded to say everything in my head at that moment.

I explained to him what happened - how I took a walk, and when I got too far away I started fading. "It's like when I used up all my energy trying to move that stupid snow-globe at Ino's," I said, "but worse. I thought I was going to disappear, Sasuke." He still looked confused, so I continued, "It must be you."

"What?" Sasuke replied.

"Think about it. I went with you to Connecticut and I was fine. I've been with you basically the whole time I've been here and I haven't disappeared." Suddenly, I had an epiphany, "It was YOU!" I shout. "You're the reason why I even came back in this state!"

"Sakura, you're not making any sense-"

"Sasuke, when you moved here... that's when I became what I am! I was still in a coma, but then you came!" The completely baffled expression on Sasuke's face would have been cute if I wasn't freaking out.

"Calm down." Sasuke said, "You're saying that you're like this because of me?"

"YES! YES!" I jumped up and down, but then stopped when I noticed Sasuke looking troubled.

"This is strange." he admitted, "I'm not exactly sure what to do, in all honesty."

"We'll figure it out." I said. I think it was the first time I heard myself saying that.

A silence passed between us. I could tell Sasuke was thinking - concentrating hard on something. I knew that face from whenever he was doing research or doing homework.

"So... how was your date?" I asked after a few seconds.

The expression he gave me was even more perplexed, "You just found out something that could be extremely crucial in getting you back and you want to know about my _date?"_

"Well, yeah." I said, as if it was obvious.

He shook his head and sighed, but said, "It was okay, I guess. Not the best time I've ever had." He seemed to dismiss it.

This didn't satisfy me completely, so I continued to press, "This Ami girl, do you _like_ her?"

The look he gave me this time was one of exasperation, "Honestly? No. She was nice, but... no."

I suddenly felt like a weight was lifted off of my chest. Despite myself, I smiled. "She didn't seem your type." I informed him, but I wouldn't elaborate when he asked me what I meant. Instead I said, "So, have you given any more thought about seeing a medium?"

"Yes, actually." Sasuke said, to my surprise. "What you said the other day got me thinking... maybe they could help us both out if we saw a medium."

"Yes!" I threw my hands up in the air, "I knew you would say yes! I knew it!"

We spent the next couple of hours trying to find a medium nearby - the closest one was in the nearest city two hours away. Sasuke managed to make an appointment to see them for next weekend.

"We have to tell Ino and Shikamaru about this, too." I said, "They'd probably want to go."

Although I was still afraid about this whole binding thing - at least, I was pretty sure it was a binding thing - I was happy that it didn't take much convincing to get Sasuke to take me to a medium. It also made me realize that I would have to watch the distance I put between Sasuke and me.

Sasuke seemed to be thinking the same thing, because the next day before Naruto came over he said, "Make sure you don't go too far away from me. Ino's house is okay, I think, but no more late-night walks as far as you can go, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, "It's not like I was planning on doing it again."

"I know." Sasuke sighed, "I just don't want to lose you right before we possibly find an answer to your problem."

"That would suck." I agreed, "Thanks again for not giving up on me, you're a good friend Sasuke." I wished it could be more.

It was at that moment that the doorbell rang - Naruto. I sighed, and moved off the couch. Even though Naruto would just go right through me, I still didn't like being sat on accidentally.

* * *

The next weekend, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru and I all piled into Itachi's car and drove to the city. It would have been fun, except that they had trouble finding the medium's house, and there was always this awkward knowledge for the three of them that I was there.

"She's here right?" Ino said, sliding into the back seat. I took a spot beside her.

"Right beside you." Sasuke answered, he was now backing out of the driveway of Ino's house.

"I wonder..." Ino reached out, and her hand barely brushed through me. I couldn't feel anything, but she shivered a little, "It's colder here. Shikamaru, try it..."

A reluctant Shikamaru passed his hand through me from the front seat, "It is cooler." He remarked. "Hey Uchiha, is this her?"

"Yes." I complained, "Is it really necessary?"

Sasuke delivered my message, and Ino smiled, "You would do the same thing to me, you know." I loved how she was actually talking directly to me now.

"True." I said.

The drive to the medium's house was a little tense. I was ready to get there and get it over with, but at the same time I was scared - what if there was no way to help me? I feared the response, but I guess it's better than not knowing at all, right?

I still wasn't sure.

The house that we ended up in front of was white and covered in ivy. A small silver car was parked in front. All-in-all, it looked pretty benign.

"Weird." Shikamaru said, "I was expecting something creepier."

Hesitantly, we walked towards the door. Ino rang the doorbell, and then stepped back. When it opened, a small woman with slightly messy blond hair tied up in a bun answered the door. "Hello." She smiled, "You must be my 2 o' clock appointment."

She led us to a quaint-looking living room, and told us to take a seat. "Tea, anyone?"

They all said no, thank you. I could tell that Sasuke was getting nervous.

Ino and Shikamaru ended up taking a seat on the small blue couch, while Sasuke took the matching armchair. I moved to stand next to Sasuke - I was as nervous as he looked. The woman (who's name was Beth) sat down in a chair she pulled in from the kitchen. "Now," She said promptly, "Let's get to why you're here. There's a spirit beside you." she told Sasuke.

"Er," Sasuke said, "Yeah, we know."

She looked a little surprised, "You can see it?"

"Hey!" I said indignantly, "I have a gender! And a name!"

Beth chuckled a little, "Well of course you do, I apologize."

"Yes, I can see... things." Sasuke admitted, I was proud of him. It must have taken a lot of effort on his part to keep it cool.

Ino and Shikamaru sat silently on the couch, being spectators.

Beth nodded, returning her attention back to Sasuke, "Very few have the Sight. Tell me, how old were you when you first started to see spirits?"

"I was about eleven." Sasuke replied, "There were so many of them, especially in the city."

"I'm sorry to hear that." she answered, "I was fifteen when I got my Sight, and it wasn't much of a surprise because my grandmother had it too. Do you know of any family that has the Sight?"

"None of my family." Sasuke said, "They sent me away because they thought I was going crazy."

Beth sighed, "A shame. Now, who is this?"

"Sakura." I said, "Sakura Harano."

"Hello Sakura," She replied, a small smile on her face, "may I ask why you are here with our friend Sasuke?"

The way she talked to me annoyed me a little, but I tried to keep it cool, "I don't know." I said, "I- I mean, my real body, is in a coma at the hospital. I just woke up like this one day, and Sasuke was the only one who could see me." It all came pouring out then, why I was there, and what had happened to me.

When I finished, Beth looked puzzled, "Strange, I've only heard of that once. Did you say you were bound to him?"

"Yes." Sasuke said, "At least, we think so. It's the only possible explanation under the circumstances."

"Wait." I said, "You never told me, am I going to be able to get back into my body? Become normal again?"

"That is up to you." Beth said simply.

I was silent for a moment, processing the information. "I don't understand." I ended up saying.

"I've only heard of cases like this," Beth continued, "and even then, I think this is unique in it's own. You said that Sasuke can't see any other spirits now that you're with him? I don't believe that I've ever heard of that before."

"But... will I ever go back to normal?" I said, now getting frustrated, "Is there _hope_?"

"There's a chance you might." Beth responded, "That, or you'll have to move on."

_Move on. _The words sounded ominous to me. "Move on to where, exactly?"

"It isn't certain." She responded, "There is hope, Sakura, but I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out on your own. When you're ready to make a decision, you will."

"But I'm ready to go back _now!_" I shouted, "Why is it not working!"

She only smiled at me sadly.

"Wait." Ino said, I had forgotten she was there honestly, "So you're saying that Sakura has to figure it out on her own? This is ridiculous!"

"Thanks, Ino." I said, even though she couldn't hear me.

There was nothing we could really do. "C'mon," Sasuke said, standing up, "Let's go."

"If you have time, Sasuke." Beth said, "I am interesting in talking to you about your gift."

"Maybe some other time." Sasuke said.

"I'll be waiting." Beth smiled in that odd way of hers. I was still infuriated with her. We left shortly after Sasuke paid her for her services.

"Well that was a bust." Ino said on the way back, "If you ask me, she didn't know what she was talking about!"

"I dunno, Ino." Shikamaru said, from the front seat. He was being unusually quiet. "I think the woman's got a point, you heard her, she's never seen anything like this before."

Before they could start bickering, Sasuke said, "I think it's obvious that we need to do more research on this. The good news is that there is hope for Sakura. She might be able to return to her body one day." I noticed that he said nothing about the other option, "moving on". But to where?

Where did we go?

* * *

That night, after everything was said and done, I came into Sasuke's room. He was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, but I didn't really care. I laid down next to him, and looked up at the ceiling fan. "Thank you for taking me there." I said, simply.

"No problem." He said softly.

We stayed there in silence for a few minutes, until I finally said, "Sasuke?"

"Hmm?"

"If I don't go back to normal... where will I go?" I murmured, trying not to show the fear that I felt.

He turned his head to look at me, "I don't know." He admitted, "I guess I never really thought about it."

"My father was around death all the time," I said, "it was part of life - part of working in the hospital, you couldn't save everyone, but I never asked... I never asked in all that time where they went after they died. No one's ever told me."

"I don't think anyone really knows," Sasuke replied, "but at least it's somewhere, right?"

"I'm scared." I whispered.

He turned to where he was facing me. Slowly, his hand traced the outline of my cheek. I couldn't feel anything, but I felt different, if that makes any sense. "Don't be." He said.

And you know what? I felt better.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I wrote a bit longer than usual! I'm still trying to update sooner, and I've been successful! Yay! Thank you all so much for the reviews, they're awesome! I hope you like this chapter, it actually took longer than I thought it would (hence, the longer chapter). In the next few chapters I hope to put more of Sakura's "memories" in, and reveal more about Sasuke. Hopefully, if everything goes well. :)

Anyway, thanks again for the reviews! They make me smile. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	11. Chapter 11

As always, life went on without me. At school, the teachers were loading everyone down with homework, even though it was only February. "I swear, these people are trying to kill us." Ino mumbled once, while hurriedly completing an essay before class. I missed school. Unlike a lot of students, I loved learning. Math, especially. I missed having people notice that I was there, even if it was in a negative way. I missed being normal more than ever. I missed my parents.

Most of the time, I tried not to dwell on it, but I was having trouble with it lately. Trouble with that, and the fact that the medium we went to see hadn't been able to help much. _That is up to you. _Her words repeated in my head like a broken record. Why couldn't she see that I _wanted _to go back, that I hated being in this stupid state.

"Why did I end up like this?" I asked Sasuke, "Why now? Why didn't I just die already? Why am I stuck in this stupid limbo?"

"I don't know." he answered, "I can't answer that."

I knew he would say something like that, but I was still disappointed. Sasuke was smart, why couldn't he just know everything? How hard would that be?

Okay, I guess it would be hard.

I had been making sure to stick close to Sasuke lately. The whole disappearing incident had terrified me enough to be almost paranoid (okay, really paranoid) about it. I rarely left on my own anymore, except to see Ino or Shikamaru, and made sure I always knew where Sasuke is.

"I think you'll be okay." Sasuke observed, once he noticed what I was doing, "I mean, you'll have to go pretty far before the fading starts."

"I'm not taking any chances." I answered back testily, sometimes I didn't feel that Sasuke understood the gravity of the situation, "If I'm going to... to _ move on _or whatever, it's definitely not going to be like that!"

Sasuke nodded, and returned to some English report he was working on. This, in turn, reminded me of how much I missed school.

I sighed loudly, causing Sasuke to look up from his work, "Do you need anything?" he asked politely. What were those girls I was hearing the other day complaining about Sasuke being cold to them for? He was perfectly fine to me.

"No." I replied, and then looked out of the window. It looked like it was about to snow - the weather had turned extremely cold again. If only I could feel it.

A few minutes passed, and I said, "Sasuke?"

He looked up from his work, "Yes?"

"What's it like to have the Sight? Or whatever that lady called it." We hadn't spoken much about the visit to the medium ever since that night. I may have been in denial about what would happen to me, and Sasuke hadn't made any protests to my refusal to acknowledge that I may not return to normal.

He thought for a moment, "Terrifying, at first. They started appearing when I was about twelve... I wasn't sure what was going on. I thought I was going crazy."

I wouldn't let him go back to his report, I said, "What did you see?"

He sighed and set his pen down. His eyes met mine - I realized how dark they were. "A few at first, at least the ones who came to talk to me. They looked like people, but there was something... wrong with them." He paused, "Some of them were bad, they were the ones who would talk to me. After I figured out my mom couldn't see them, I just tried to ignore them, but it wasn't that easy. Some of them followed me home - it took months for them to get bored and go away." I wondered if he had ever told anyone this, or if I wanted to hear it, "I think they were all dead. One of them had the back of his head blown out - he was one of the worst - and another had cuts all over her face..." He trailed off, obviously remembering.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered.

He continued, "They weren't all bad. I saw others, but they left me alone. They always looked busy, like they had somewhere they needed to go. Sometimes they looked so normal that it was hard for me to differentiate between them and real people." he eyed me, "I had a hard time figuring out whether or not you were one of them or not." I remembered his confused look that first day he saw me, and then the realization that I was one of _them._

Suddenly, I felt terrible. Why was I making him remember all of this? "Did it ever get better?" I made myself ask, "Did they ever go away?"

The look he gave me was sad, "What do you think? I'm here, aren't I?" he sighed, "It wasn't until I moved here and met you that things got any better, and I still have you talking to me all the time." The smile he gave me reassured me that this was a joke.

"Jerk." I laughed, "The only times I talk is when I'm helping you!"

"No offense Sakura, but I'm not sure if telling me how bitchy Karin's being counts as 'helpful'." Sasuke smirked.

"Of course it is!" I scoffed, "I'm just trying to convince you of how terrible she really is!" Sasuke hadn't seemed to pick up on how awful Karin was - he was always okay to her. I mean, it's not like he was really trying to be nice to her, but he didn't reject her either. This bothered me, as I was a firm believer that Karin was the spawn of all evil.

That was something nice about Sasuke; he was polite. I mean, I guess he could come across as cold if you didn't speak to him that much, but to tell the truth, he was never rude to the girls that were always chasing after him. He just politely declined their offers to go out. Everyone except Ami, of course. But he was really just pushed into that, right?

Sometimes I thought that it was my fault he couldn't really have a normal life. Now that he wasn't exposed to so many spirits (just one... me), I figured he could go ahead and date whoever he wanted.

I tried not to think about that. He was helping me, which was important, right? I needed to get back to my body as soon as possible.

To my chagrin (and dismay, although I refused to acknowledge why), Sasuke was going out again tonight. Given, it would be with a group (Ino and Shikamaru included), but Ami would be there. For some reason, I found this threatening.

* * *

_"Come on, Sakura." Mom's hand clutches mine tightly as she leads me quickly through the streets, "We're running late!" _

_We are on our way to watch Dad get awarded one of the most prestigious awards that he can get. All my life I have been attending these ceremonies_ _to honor my father - he's one of the best doctors of his time, some say. In my opinion, he's the best Doctor ever. I want to be just like him when I grow up. _

_I am ten - two years before Dad was diagnosed with cancer. Right now, Mom and I are hurrying to get to the awards ceremony at a nearby college. We're in the city, and Mom's already nervous, she's never been the best at navigation, and having to dodge all of the hurrying people plus being late is bothering her-_

_We are interrupted by a homeless woman who appears from the nearby church we are passing. "The girl." she says, pointing at me, "She can See." _

_I slow down, suddenly afraid and curious. "Ignore her." Mom hisses, pulling me farther along. I can tell she's getting anxious._

_"She's the light!" the woman calls after us, "She has the gift!" _

_"Mom, what's happening?" I ask, "Why does she want to talk to us?" _

_"She's just sick, honey." Mom replies, still moving quickly - her hand grasped firmly around mine. _

_"But Dad can heal her, right?" I say. _

_"Yes, dear." she replies hastily, pulling me along. _

_We reach the award ceremony, but all I can think of is the woman.  
_

* * *

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Lately these flashbacks have been coming at me more and more often. I could see Sasuke looking at me curiously, but of course he couldn't say anything at the time.

We met at a restaurant. "We" meaning a group consisting of Sasuke, Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru, Ami and her friend Hana, Gaara and Matsuri (a girl a grade below us who was really nice as far as I could tell), Neji and Tenten, Rock Lee, and me of course, but since no one but Sasuke could see me I don't think it really counted.

"God I miss this." I told him in the car on the way there. Naruto was in the front seat, so Sasuke couldn't reply, but I think I saw him smile a little.

"I think Hana likes me." Naruto said, bluntly. "She's just playing hard to get."

I saw Hana the other day - she was blond and pretty, but only seemed to want to catch Sasuke's attention. I hadn't seen her really pay any attention to Naruto, honestly. It was kind of sad.

Sasuke seemed to be thinking the same thing.

The restaurant was bustling since it was Saturday night. Ino had chosen a sushi restaurant which had, to Naruto's utter delight, ramen. The group was seated at a large table in the back - unfortunately, Sasuke ended up next to Ami, who was now beaming. I stayed close to Ino and Shikamaru, who had some idea that I was here, despite being invisible to them.

"So Ami, where's Karin?" Tenten asked, "Couldn't make it?"

Ami took her attention off of Sasuke to answer, "She ended up having to go somewhere with family, it's a shame right?"

"You invited _Karin_?" I balked. Suddenly it hit me that Ami was Karin's friend. Why hadn't I remembered that?

"Wouldn't Karin be mad at you for going out with Sasuke?" I asked Ami, "I mean, I don't like the girl and all, but that's kind of a jerk move, right?" I didn't say it loud enough for Sasuke to hear, though. He seemed to be enjoying his conversation with Ami, who was now flipping her hair annoyingly and smiling.

I noticed that Naruto wasn't having as much luck. Hana was more interested in striking up a conversation with Neji that him. I rolled my eyes.

Ino and Shikamaru were talking to Gaara and Matsuri. "So Matsuri." Ino grinned, "How'd he get you to go out with him?" Gaara, like Sasuke, was often sought after by girls (who were turned down politely and then crushed). To everyone's surprise he ended up going out with the girl he had been tutoring, after asking her out himself.

Matsuri smiled back shyly, "We've been friends for awhile, it just sort of happened."

"You're lucky." Ino said, "I'd love for Shikamaru to help me out with homework once in awhile, but he's too lazy - the bum."

"Hey!" Shikamaru interjected, "I helped you last week!"

"No, you fell asleep on my couch while I finished the whole project!"

They were cute when they fought - too cute. I sighed, and moved away from them. Sasuke and Ami were still talking to my surprise, and I could see that Hana had surrendered to Naruto and was now half-listening to what he was saying, while at the same time staring into space.

Our waitress was nice - Hinata Hyuuga, a girl I sort of knew from school, and also Neji's cousin. She had always been extremely shy, but whenever I got her to talk to me she was incredibly smart. We could have been good friends, I think, if I just had more time.

"Hello." She greeted the table, "Are you ready to order?"

The evening was pleasant, I'll give it that. If I had been there, I probably would have enjoyed it, even. At the time, I was a little too preoccupied in making sure Ami didn't get too close to Sasuke (I may have seen her reaching for his hand... sadly, it didn't work out due to the glass of water in front of her starting to wobble beside her - the cause of this being unknown to everyone but Sasuke himself).

Sasuke glanced at me after the incident with the water, but seemed to be okay with what he saw, because he went back to talking to Ami.

We stayed at the restaurant for a couple of hours, until Neji and Tenten left, and Ino insisted that she had to get home because she had promised her mom she'd do something. After that the group kind of deteriorated.

"I had fun." Ami smiled at Sasuke, "We should do this again sometime." It was like they had just gone on a date with just the two of them.

"Yeah." Hana interrupted, rolling her eyes, "Totally. Let's go, Ami." I watched the two girls walk out the door, annoyed. Why did Hana have to be so mean?

Finally, only Sasuke and Naruto were left, the latter of the two was now chatting to Hinata, who seemed to be extremely interested in him. Naruto left with her number.

* * *

"Sasuke?" I asked in the car on the way home - we had just dropped Naruto off.

"Yes?" he replied, focusing on the street.

"Why didn't you ever date, before Ami, I mean? You've had a lot of other offers - guys like Naruto would be in heaven by now-"

"I'm not Naruto, though." Sasuke glanced at me briefly, "I dated girls before I came here - remember Rin? We went out a couple of times, but it was hard to focus. I guess I've just been busy with everything - Naruto, helping you, homework... I didn't really think about actually accepting their offers, what with all I have going on." he looked innocent enough.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, looking confused again - come to think of it, he's looked like that a lot lately.

"For not letting you have a normal life." I said simply, "Maybe it would be better if I just 'moved on'-"

"Don't say that." Sasuke snapped, "You're not 'moving on', or whatever crap that lady was saying. We'll find a way, Sakura-"

"Do you like her?" I interrupted, "Ami, I mean?"

"Where did this come from?" Sasuke said, obviously bewildered, "I want to help you, Sakura. I thought that would be apparent by now."

I groaned, why was this all coming out wrong. "It's nothing." I said, "I guess I was just freaking out for no reason." I put on a fake smile, "It'll be okay."

Itachi was waiting when we got home. "I think Mom's onto me." he confessed to Sasuke, after saying hello. "She's getting suspicious. I think it's because I always say you're in the shower when she calls me and asks to talk to you." I had thought that trick would get them someday.

"I'll talk to her next time." Sasuke promised, "So our parents don't think you're being a bad guardian or anything."

"There's something else." Itachi admitted, "They want you to go back to Connecticut."

* * *

_"Sakura!" I find myself being hugged by Ino as soon as I walk through the door of my house, "Your mom's not home- she said I could wait for you here. Are you okay? I'm so sorry about what happened." So the news of my father's cancer had spread already. _

_Without meaning to I start to cry. Suddenly I'm sobbing on Ino's shoulder. Even I have to admit that this is unusual - I can usually hold it together. "T-the doctor said he m-might not..." I trail off, and Ino hugs me tighter._

_"I'm so sorry." she says. Not "everything will be okay" or "don't cry", because we didn't know if everything would be okay. Not even the doctors that I thought were invincible. _

_Once I stopped crying, we order pizza and watch movies. I try not to think about where my mom is (at the hospital) or what condition my father is in. I almost succeed, except for the one thing that keeps running through my mind: why couldn't my father just heal himself? It seemed so simple. _

_"How's everything going with your family?" I ask Ino later that night. My mom still isn't back yet - I pretend that she and Dad were on vacation. _

_"They're still fighting." Ino sighs, "It sucks. I kind of wish my dad would just go back on one of his stupid business trips and leave us alone." _

_That night I dream about the woman we saw in the city. She's calling for me, "You have the Gift!" she screams, "Come back!" _

_I wake up terrified. _

_"Sakura?" Ino says hesitantly through the darkness, "Are you okay?" _

_"Y-yes." I reply back unsteadily, "Just a bad dream."_

_I try to console myself while listening to Ino's steady breathing in the darkness - it's only a dream, I think to myself, probably just brought on by pizza and the stress of everything going on right now. _

_Nothing to worry about._

* * *

__**A/N:** Okay, so this chapter is a little weird, and I've been revising it for awhile until I finally got it to something I liked okay. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but since I got everything I wanted to in it I think it's okay. :) Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it and hope you can take the time to tell me what you think about this chapter.

Also, I think I may have some inconsistencies in the first-person tense of the "memories". I read them a few times and I think I got everything edited out but if you find any grammatical or misspelled words feel free to tell me! Thanks again for reading, I hope you like this chapter! :) I'll try to update again this next week since I have it off from school!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Okay, so I just want to thank you all for the reviews! You guys are awesome, and I loved reading all of them! :) I know this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I think I wrote as much as I can for this one, and I'll try to have the next one up as soon as possible!

As you can probably tell by the end, there's a lot of development in this, with a twist. ;) So I hope you like it! Anyway, please tell me what you think! Thank you again! Also, I'm posting this kind of late, so if there are any major errors in spelling or grammar or something, please tell me! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_I'm walking down the hallway of the hospital. There's some memorial service going on for my dad, but I'm not exactly concentrating on that now. There's someone following me, but when I tried to tell Carrie she insisted that no one was there. _

_This scares me, am I going crazy? Do I have some weird stress disorder that's making me see things, or a brain imbalance? My father had a brain tumor that sometimes affected his memories. Getting something similar is__ now a huge fear of mine. _

_At twelve, I am smart. Really smart, even. I've been taking advanced classes for years now, and am at the top of my class. Many people have told me that it wouldn't surprise them if I end up taking after my father - doing just as well as him, even. But if I start going crazy now that will all go downhill. _

_Maybe it is vain, but I don't want people to see me any other way that cool, collected Sakura. Except Ino and Shikamaru, of course. _

_I peek behind my shoulder for a small second. The woman who's following me is an elderly woman who died a few days ago. She refuses to leave the hospital. She seemed nice when she was alive, but just the thought of seeing a dead person terrifies me. I want her to go away - desperately hope she's imaginary. _

_I hurry into a vacant elevator, praying that she can't follow me. Nothing happens, and I breath a sigh of relief. The elevator is descending now, producing that dropping sensation that I used to think was so much fun as a child-_

_"Excuse me, could you please help me?" the woman is now standing beside me. _

_I shriek loudly, and move to the other side of the elevator. The woman has bruises on the insides of her arms from the IVs that she had when she was still alive, and I can see a faint scar from her last surgery peeking out from the top of her nightgown. "Stay away from me." I plead, "Please. I can't be going crazy. I'm not crazy!" _

_"Sakura?" Shizune, one of my father's colleagues finds me. "Sakura, why are you shouting? What's wrong?" _

_"I'm not crazy." I gasp, "This can't be happening." _

_"She's having a panic attack." I hear someone saying - their voice sounds distant. Suddenly, everything fades to black._

* * *

I gasped, baffling memories suddenly flooding my mind. Memories that sounded eerily similar to what Sasuke had been telling me about his life a few years ago.

I hadn't gotten the chance yet to tell Sasuke about the woman I saw with my mother before the awards ceremony - the one who said I had "the Sight". Wasn't that what the medium called Sasuke's gift? Was I like Sasuke?

Why hadn't I remembered seeing things like that before the accident? What had happened? I would have to get my answers later. Itachi was still here.

_"They want you to come home."_ He had said that the other day about Sasuke's parents - thankfully, no one had acted on anything yet.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke replied, looking baffled, "Why? They told me that it would be better if I lived with you-"

"Things change, little brother." Itachi said, "You seem okay, as far as Mom can tell; better, even." he sighed, and sat down on one of the chairs in the living room. Suddenly he looked exhausted, "You know our family: if anyone's happy, change it."

"I'm not moving." Sasuke said. He looked irritated beyond belief, and I wondered all this tension was common in their family. It certainly wasn't in mine. At least, not until Dad died, I now realized.

"We'll figure this out, Sasuke." Itachi smiled, I think he meant it to be reassuring, but he just looked tired, "If they think just sending you away would fix anything... they don't know. I mean, you're definitely improving, don't get me wrong, but sending you back there? I think you'd just regress."

"Well actually," I said, "He hasn't been seeing anything at all lately, except for me. But we can't have him moving away because, well, we still need to figure out how to get me back to my body, and all of our resources are here. Also, I wouldn't get to see my friends. Sasuke's friends too now." I stopped when Sasuke looked at me.

"I'm not moving." Sasuke said again, "They can't make me. I'm almost an adult, and I'm happy here."

"I can tell." Itachi's expression was sympathetic - he really was a good brother, despite his absence all the time, "You seem a lot happier. Less stressed. I wish I could have been there for you when you... you know." Went crazy, I know.

"It couldn't be helped." Sasuke said, "Thank you, though. For offering to let me stay here. I'm glad I came."

"Me too, little brother." Itachi grinned, and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I can never sleep on planes very well, and I'm exhausted."

Once he was gone, and we were in Sasuke's room, I said, "What are you going to do?"

Sasuke shrugged, "It's simple isn't it? I'm just not going to go."

"Do you think they'll give up that easily?" I said quietly, "Your parents, I mean?"

"I dunno." Sasuke replied, "I've never really denied them before."

"You can't go." I said simply, "I would have to go with you, and I don't think Connecticut's really my kind of place, you know?"

Sasuke shook his head and smiled, "It's not all about you, you know."

"Why not?" I grinned back, "I'm the one who's attached to you. It's only fitting that I get to help decide where you end up."

"And I suppose you'll be coming too, then?" Sasuke teased.

"Duh. What part of _attached _don't you understand?"

He rolled his eyes, and said, "It's a moot point, anyway. We're not going anywhere."

We didn't talk much after that, because Sasuke had to do Physics homework. I decided to go for a walk (outside, and I made sure that I could still see the house - like I said, not taking any chances. I believed that Sasuke didn't want to leave, and would fight it if he had to (at least, that's what it seemed like), but something in the back of my mind couldn't stop worrying. What would happen to me then, if Sasuke would have to move back? Would I disappear completely? Would we even be able to find out how to fix me?

I had always been a worrier, even before I got like this. I never liked to let it show, either. It was harder, in this state, to hide my emotions. Now that I knew that no one could see me I was open with almost everything. Sasuke had seen a side of me in the past several months than I had ever shown anyone - even Ino, at some times. With everyone else I had always been pretty collected.

The memory of that last night - the night that I had gotten hit by that stupid car - flashed through my mind and I groaned. I guess that appearance was already down the drain. I had made a fool of myself, and paid the price for that one. But who really cared anymore? One thing's for certain, I had changed. If I ever got back I would be more preoccupied in seeing my friends and family that caring about how I _looked _to them.

I couldn't go to Connecticut. We were so close to figuring everything out, I could feel it. I just needed more time.

* * *

The next day after school, Sasuke's mom called. I could hear a long argument going on between her and Sasuke (and I could only hear Sasuke's side).

After about an hour, Sasuke handed the phone to Itachi who said things like, "Mom, calm down. No, I don't think Sasuke should have to go back either... he's made a lot of friends! He's happy here!"

I followed Sasuke to his room while Itachi was on the phone. "What did she say?" I asked him.

"She says I'm too young to decide for myself, and that Itachi should know better." he shook his head, "She treats me like a five-year-old. This is so stupid! She was perfectly fine sending me away when I was 'defective', but now that I'm showing the first signs of 'being normal' she's ready to have her son back so she can brainwash me!" he was seething now. I don't think I've ever seen Sasuke that angry.

Itachi walked in, looking confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Sasuke lied easily, "I was just talking to Naruto on the phone."

"Oh." Itachi said, "I just got off the phone with Mom. She says you're not off the hook yet, but she'll consider letting you stay here." he rolled his eyes, "You know Mom. Anyway, I was thinking about ordering take-out for dinner tonight - you should invite Naruto over, I haven't seen that little punk in awhile."

"Sounds good." Sasuke replied. After Itachi left he called Naruto (for real this time) and invited him over. I could hear Naruto's loud voice on the other side of the phone, and smiled.

"I think it'll be okay." I told Sasuke, "You can't move away. Not after everything that's happened. Itachi'll take care of it."

"I hope so." Sasuke sighed.

"It will." I said, but it didn't make me feel any better like I thought.

I watched Sasuke and Naruto interact with Itachi that night. Naruto could have been Itachi's little brother too - Itachi treated him exactly the same as Sasuke (teasing, but protective). It made me realize that Naruto was really more like a brother to Sasuke than a friend. They did everything together. It was sweet, really.

"So Naruto," Itachi was asking, "do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"Do you really need to ask him that?" Sasuke teased, "That's all he's been talking about."

"Actually," Naruto butted in, "I'm currently talking to a girl named Hinata. She's really pretty and nice, but you know what the best thing about her is! SHE CAN MAKE RAMEN!" I was afraid he was going to bust a blood vein.

"That's the best thing, hmm?" Itachi looked dubious.

"Don't encourage him." Sasuke sighed, but it was really no use.

"So how did you and this Hinata meet?" Itachi asked the already overexcited Naruto.

This, of course, resulted in a very long-winded story about how Naruto insisted that he saved Hinata from a fruit vendor outside...

"This is ridiculous!" Sasuke said, "I was there when you met her! And since when can you use a sword!"

"Don't interrupt!" Naruto shouted, "I wasn't done!"

"It seems to me that you may be over exaggerating," Itachi snorted, "but that does remind me of a time when I had a summer job as a lifeguard. I met my girlfriend at the time because she pretended to have trouble swimming... of course I had to make sure she didn't drown... and well, the rest was history."

I laughed, "If this is what you have to deal with when these two get together, I pity you." I told Sasuke (a bit hypocritically, since I was pretty sure I could be grating at times).

The night was pleasant. I had never seen Itachi really spend time with Sasuke, and I have to say that I was impressed. Out of all the Uchiha's I had met so far, Itachi was my favorite.

When I expressed this to Sasuke later on (I think it was on the way to school, Sasuke had decided to walk this time to let Itachi use his car to run errands), his reply surprised me. "He wasn't always like this." Sasuke said, "We used to never talk. He was always off doing things - he was always Father's favorite, too. I didn't think he liked me."

"Of course he did." I said, "He's your brother, Sasuke!"

"When I first started seeing things, I got made fun of a lot." Sasuke said, without emotion, "Itachi was always really popular in school. When he found out that his little brother was making outbursts to nothing well... he made it clear that he thought I was a freak."

"That's terrible," I muttered, "but you're okay now, right? That's what it seemed like last night, at least."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, something changed not that long ago. Itachi apologized about not being there for me. He surprised me even more when he offered to let me stay with him. I think he had a bit of a fall-out with Father... he really has changed." Sasuke's eyes met mine for a brief second - I tried to ignore the feelings that it gave me.

"I'm glad," I replied, "because then you wouldn't be here."

He looked at me, smiling a bit, "As far as we know, you wouldn't be here either."

"Exactly." I smiled.

* * *

_I am seeing things. They started appearing a little after my father's death - people, I think they're dead. Most leave me alone. I think they have places to go, because I only see them passing by, in windows or on the street. Sometimes I see them in my room, but briefly. _

_The worst don't leave me alone. Usually if I ignore them they go away, but I never know how long it will take. The very worst was a lady who was covered in blood. She wouldn't stop screaming. I couldn't sleep for weeks because of her. _

_Mom didn't believe me when I told her about them. She says that I'm only trying to get attention. My father's death was hard for everyone, she says. So will I please stop stressing her out?_

_I wish I could. _

_I am laying in my bed tonight__, trying to calm down enough to sleep. The man at the foot of my bed has finally disappeared; I hope he's not coming back. He wasn't as bad as the others but still... having something watch you all the time... it's hard to do anything, really. _

_A figure appears in the doorway. I tense, trying not to let it know that I know it's there. _Ignore it, _I think, _You're going crazy. Nothing's there.

_The figure - a man - moves closer and closer to my bed. I try not to cry out, knowing that it would do no good. I should be used to this by now, but it only seems to be getting worse. I've started seeing a psychiatrist - I'm taking medication now that's supposed to help. What's wrong with me?_

_"Sakura." the figure whispers. His voice sounds familiar - comforting, even. _

_"D-dad?" I reply softly. As he walks closer to me, I see the familiar shape of my father. He doesn't look sick anymore. He looks healthy, and whole. "What are you doing here?" _

_"It's true then." he says. He sounds sad. "You can see us." _

_"What's happening to me?" I say, and feel my throat constricting. The backs of my eyes begin to tingle, and I feel tears collecting in my eyes. I miss Dad so much._

_"What happened to me when I was your age." he sighs, and takes a seat on the foot of my bed. "You have the Sight."_

_I am suddenly reminded of what the lady we saw on the street was saying. _The sight... _"You had it too?" I say quietly, "Did mom-?"_

_"Your mother never knew." he replies, "I was able to block it from my mind after a few years. Your grandmother had it, too. She helped me. I'm afraid it's going to be difficult for you, because of that damn cancer." My father didn't curse much, so I could tell that he was upset. _

_"What's going to happen to me?" I choked back my tears, willing myself not to break down. "Am I going crazy?" _

_He smiled sadly, "No. Everything will be okay." _


	13. Chapter 13

I walked along the street, still hesitant, but intact. Between fear and curiosity, my curiosity had won off. Also, I wanted some time alone. Having Itachi and Naruto over all the time wasn't that good of an environment to think.

"I'm going to take a walk." I told Sasuke before I left, just so he would know where I was going. He only nodded, because Naruto was in the other room (now that Itachi was back for a few weeks, Naruto had been staying over a lot. It was like a big family in that house), but I knew he was glad that I told him.

At first I headed toward Ino's house. I hadn't seen her that much - it was the weekend, and Sasuke had been busy talking to Itachi and his parents, and Ino was going to support Shikamaru at his Mathletes competition (he had been slacking so much that Azuma, his math teacher and mentor, had said that he could get extra credit by joining the team. Not surprisingly, Shikamaru was really good at math and helped the team win a lot of meets). So I hadn't seen either of them much.

About halfway there, I realized that I hadn't been to my old house in awhile, and started walking in that direction. Thankfully, it wasn't far away from Sasuke's house either, so I didn't have to worry about fading. The weather was still cold - it was midday, and there was a fresh cover of clouds outside. I had been hearing that it would snow again, and I couldn't wait.

Seeing my house brought back feelings of nostalgia and longing. I wished that everything was the same - but would it really have been that great? I had been remembering things lately. When I was still... there, I had the Sight too. Was I the same as Sasuke?

Was I worse?

The house was the same as the last time I had seen it. It looked like it was slowly rotting away, like the life I thought I had. I went inside anyway, I wanted another look at my old room.

* * *

_"I miss you so much." I whisper in the darkness. My father is still there; I wish he'd never leave. _

_He still looks sad, "There's a lot I need to tell you, Sakura, and little time. I need you to listen. Will you do that for me?" _

_I sniff, but nod my head. Something tells me that what he's about to say is extremely important. _

_"Good. Now, what you are seeing are spirits, and that's because you have what we call the Sight. It's an incredibly rare gift that only some people have - the gift of being able to communicate with people who haven't quite moved on yet-"_

_"Moved on where?" I interrupt. I can't help myself._

_He looks tired, "No one really knows. There are other cases, but normally spirits are people who have died. They're like normal people in the way that some are good and bad. Some of them may look different, but they're all the same really."_

_"But why can I see them?" I say, "I don't understand." _

_"A long time ago, people with the Sight were seen as ways to talk to the dead. We were regarded as the bridge to help communicate. Like mediums."_

_"So mediums are real?" I respond quickly, "And psychics?" _

_"Er... not all of them." Dad says, "But it doesn't matter right now. I used the Sight a lot as a doctor. When I was younger, I used to help my dead patients pass on messages to their friends and families. I kept it fairly discreet, however, but it was always nice to let the survivors know what their loved one wanted then to know."_

_"Is that why you're such a good doctor?" I ask, innocently. _

_He chuckles, "Part of it, I suppose. Anyway, what I want you to know is that just because you have the Sight, it doesn't mean you need to rely on it, or revolve your life around it. You can learn to control your power and live a normal life."_

_"But what if-"_

_"That's another thing I have to explain to you." he interrupts hastily, "Before we run out of time, you are-"_

_"Sakura?" My mom enters my bedroom, "Why are you still awake? It's one o' clock." _

_I look to where my father had been standing, but he's gone. _

_"N-nothing." I say, my voice still shaky. I feel like I'm about to cry, "I just had a bad dream." _

_"Oh honey." Mom says, and hugs me. "Go back to sleep now, there's nothing there." _

_Once she leaves, I wait for Dad to come back. When it's obvious that he's gone, I sob openly into my pillows. _

_I never saw him again.  
_

* * *

"What the hell?" I said. That last memory was so strong it had be on the ground. Did I black out for a few minutes?

I had figured out that I had the Sight - what Sasuke had - but what else was Dad trying to tell me? I guess I wouldn't figure that out.

I finally reached my bedroom - everything was the same as it had been that night, but a little dusty. Some of my things had been moved around slightly, probably from Sasuke seeing it that day. How long ago was that?

I sighed, and sat down on my bed. Soon enough, it turned onto a full on sprawl. I tried to imagine that my life was normal. That my parents were downstairs talking, and that everything was going to be okay.

Suddenly, I heard a noise downstairs. Was Sasuke coming to get me? No, that can't be right. He had his hands full with his family and Naruto. I walked downstairs hesitantly. If it was a burglar I could take care of them.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.

The front door opened, and a woman stepped into the house. She looked familiar, with limp red hair and sad green eyes. "M-mom?" I whispered. She looked so... old.

My aunt was following her closely, "Come on," she said to my mom, "You can do this."

My mother smiled, "You've been telling me this ever since we got onto the plane."

I watched them as they turned on the lights, and slowly straightened everything up. I was content just to watch them - the family that I had been missing for so long. It felt like a hole in my heart had suddenly been patched up. Well, almost.

I stayed with them for a few hours. It became clear that they had been in Japan as a way to give my mother time to recuperate. After all, as my aunt pointed out, she had lost her husband and daughter. It was time for a break.

I left when they went out for dinner. I had to tell Sasuke about what was happening, and I was sure he would be wondering where I was - I ended up sprinting as soon as I passed through the front door. Exhaustion never fazed me anymore, I could probably run forever if I wanted to... and if I wasn't attached to Sasuke.

Itachi was in the living room with Sasuke when I burst through the door, but I didn't hesitate. "Sasuke!" I said, "My mom's back! She's back! Isn't that great!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, but he didn't take his attention off of Itachi. It was at that moment when I realized what his older brother was saying, "Our parents want you to come back." Itachi was saying, "They bought you a plane ticket already, you'll be leaving in three weeks. I'm sorry, little brother."

"What?" I said, "No! You can't leave now!"

"I can't." Sasuke pleaded, "Don't make me go back, say something-"

Itachi looked sad, "Maybe it's for the best. You're always alone here anyway, and don't you want to go back to your friends? You really are improving, Sasuke."

Sasuke ended the conversation by saying, "I'm going for a walk. Don't wait up for me." He left before Itachi could say anything else.

Once he was sufficiently away from the house, Sasuke said, "So your mom's back? That's good."

"I'm sorry." I said, "About your parents. About you having to move back-"

"It's not happening." Sasuke said blankly, "I'm not leaving. They can't make me, I'm not going back there."

"I know." I answered patiently, even though I didn't feel patient at all.

"What do you want to do about your mom?" Sasuke asked, changing the subject.

"I dunno." I said honestly, "I could try to make her see that I'm still here. You could talk to her, but that's up to you. I just want to see how she's doing, really. I haven't seen her in so long."

"I could do something like that." he said softly.

I suddenly remembered everything that I had been remembering. "Look, Sasuke." I said, "There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

I explained everything I had remembered. How I had the Sight before I was hit by that stupid car, how my father had appeared to me, and how I could probably help him out. "There's a way to block everything from your mind." I told him, "If you, you know, don't have me anymore. You can live a normal life, Sasuke."

"That's incredible," he whispered, "and you just remembered it now?"

"Yeah." I said, "Funny, isn't it?"

"It's brilliant." Sasuke was looking at me differently, "Now I know that there are others like me - like _us _- who can appear normal. I didn't know..." he trailed off. "Thank you, Sakura."

I shook my head, smiling, "You were bound to figure it out on your own. You're smart like that."

"I'm glad you found me." Sasuke murmured, "And I'm sorry I was so... you know, paranoid when we first met. I regret it now."

I touched his hand, willing myself to feel something. Nothing, as expected. "Thank you for helping me." I said, for maybe the hundredth time.

When I looked up, he was still gazing at me. Sasuke was so beautiful. I know it's weird to say that about a guy, but he was. I never wanted him to stop looking at me. "Sakura," he said, "I-"

"Sasuke!" A gratingly familiar voice called, I turned around to find Karin and Ami. Great.

"Oh, hello." Sasuke looked like someone had just poured cold water over his head.

"Long time no see!" Karin simpered, "We were just walking to Rock Lee's party, wanna join us?" I saw Ami gazing shyly at Sasuke from behind her annoying friend. It wasn't right for someone to be so pretty. Did she practice that expression in the mirror?

"Er," Sasuke said, "I'm actually on my way home, sorry. Maybe another day."

"I'll have to take you up on that offer." Karin winked.

Before we could leave, however, Ami said, "Sasuke, there's this stupid dance that I have to go to next week, and I have to find a date by Monday. Would you go with me?"

"I'll have to see." Sasuke said, still polite, "I'll let you know if I can make it, okay?"

Ami smiled, suddenly appearing ten times more beautiful. I hated her. She wrote her phone number on a small piece of paper, and handed it to Sasuke. "Okay." she said, "See you soon!"

Karin dragged her off after that, probably about to start bitching about how Ami was hitting on her man or something. Gag me.

Once they were gone, I said, "What were you saying? Before they showed up...?"

"Oh," Sasuke said, "it's not important. We should probably head back, I need to apologize to Itachi."

* * *

Later that night, after Sasuke had made a sufficient apology, we planned out what we were going to do.

"You're going to return soon." he said, "If it's the last thing I do..."

I flopped onto his bed, as I was prone to do late at night when we were talking, "But how? I don't see us getting any closer to finding out how. And as we only have a few weeks, well..."

"I'm not moving." Sasuke insisted, "We just have to try harder. I know there's a way to put you back, we just have to figure it out." He was silent for a moment, thinking. "I think we should have Ino or Shikamaru talk to your mother. I could, but she doesn't know me."

I agreed that this was probably the only option we had at this point. "Okay," I said, "we can try."

I stayed in Sasuke's room as he finished his homework, and then researched more on his laptop, just keeping him company. There wasn't really anything to do, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see my mother again. Not when she was so unrecognizable. I wondered if she had gone to see my body yet, or if it would be too hard for her.

She had been through a lot. We all had.

When I returned my attention to Sasuke, he had fallen asleep, the book he had been reading now overturned beside him. He looked so vulnerable - I was reminded of the family picture in the living room of Sasuke as a child.

Unwillingly, I took a step closer. And another, until I was at the edge of his bed. My hand reached out involuntarily, and I touched his cheek. A deep yearning welled up within me to be normal. To be the normal (well, not anymore as I recently found out) girl that could be friends with Sasuke. That could have been more than friends.

All of that was lost to me now.

Quietly, I left his room. I had a feeling that I would always be trapped in this state, that life would move on without me and that there would be nothing that I could do. _Nothing..._

Why was this happening to me? Why had I had to go to that stupid party and get hit by that stupid car? Why did my father have to die? Why did I have to be cursed with the Sight? Why did Sasuke? Why couldn't I have my life back? All of these questions ran through my head. I began gasping for air, how could I live like this any longer?

It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized I was beginning to fade. Only a little - the color of my plain white shirt had become a little more transparent, as had the rest of me. But I was fading, nonetheless.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for the reviews, and they made me so happy! :) I know this chapter is shorter than the other ones, but I think it ended better this way. I promise the next one will be longer, though!

Anyways, please tell me what you think! And thanks again for the reviews! :)

**Edit 11/28/11: **I just realized that the "memory" in this wasn't put together how I wanted it, I made some minor adjustments, nothing big. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	14. Chapter 14

"I'll be back in two weeks, before... you know." Itachi finished his goodbye lamely. It was time for him to go back to the city to work, and I can't say I was sad about it. Itachi was a great guy, but I was ready to have Sasuke talk to me more. Especially inside his own house. "I'll try to convince Mom that you should stay, but you know them." he sighed.

"Thanks Itachi." Sasuke said, "For everything."

Itachi smiled, "It was fun while it lasted, little brother."

He left after that.

"Well, he's gone." I said, "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"I dunno, he seemed like he's already given up. Like you're going to move away."

Sasuke insisted that he wasn't, blah blah, but I wasn't sure if he really had a choice in the matter. He was still sixteen, after all.

Now that I thought of it, it was almost March 28 - my birthday. I would be seventeen soon, and wouldn't even get to celebrate it. I thought about telling Sasuke that, but decided it was too depressing. Maybe later.

After I realized that I was fading, I made sure to stay as close as I could to Sasuke - for the most part, anyway. Sometimes I couldn't resist visiting my mom. I had decided not to tell him about the fading too, it would just worry him, and for what? We still hadn't gotten anywhere in finding out how to put me back.

"So are you going to Ami's dance thing?" I asked, trying to sound unconcerned.

Sasuke seemed to consider it, "I don't think I'd have time." he said, "We should probably try to get you back in the next few weeks... just in case... you know." I knew, he moved away. So Sasuke was preparing for the worst, huh.

I felt a little better after that. "She's pretty," I allowed, "but she's friends with Karin."

"What is it with you and Karin?" Sasuke said.

* * *

The next day at school, Ino approached Sasuke. "Did you hear about Sakura's mom?" she whispered, "She's back."

Sasuke explained that we had just recently figured it out.

Ino scoffed, "And you didn't tell me? What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." I said, "Maybe you could go visit her for me, to see how she's doing?" I'd already seen, of course, but maybe she could get more information about where Mom had been all this time.

"Yeah, totally." Ino perked up after Sasuke had told her my idea, "I can do that."

Shikamaru interjected, "I'll come with you."

"Thanks guys." I replied, "This really means a lot."

They planned on going over the next day, but Shikamaru had another academic meet so it was pushed back another day. I waited anxiously while I rode in the car with my two best friends. It had been decided that Sasuke wouldn't come along - despite the fact that he could see me, my mom didn't know him, and we didn't want her to withhold information because he was there.

After making sure I was in the car with them, Ino began driving to my old house. "You know, this is strange Sakura." she remarked, "I've driven you home a lot, but never like this."

Shikamaru snorted, "I'm sure this is an awkward situation no matter what, Ino."

I smiled, even though they couldn't see me. Suddenly, I wished Sasuke was there.

My mom's car was there when we pulled up to my house. "So far so good." Shikamaru said.

My aunt answered the door. "Oh, hello." she said, "I'm sorry... but I don't believe we've met before?"

"I'm Ino," Ino smiled, "and this is Shikamaru. We, er, came to see Mrs. Harano?"

"Oh," my aunt said, "Let me get her, just a sec!"

I waited impatiently as my mother was summoned. Why did I feel so nervous? "Hello." Mom said, "I haven't seen you two in awhile..." she trailed off, looking dazed.

"Hi Mrs. Harano." Ino said, "We brought you these." She handed my mom a bouquet of flowers - yellow chrysanthemums, at my request. They had always been her favorites. Dad had always gotten them for her on her birthday.

"Thank you." Mom murmured, I could tell she was touched. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, please." Ino said, nudging Shikamaru. I passed through the door before it closed on me.

"How are you doing?" My mother said, as soon as they were ushered in the kitchen. My aunt had disappeared somewhere, probably off doing housework or something. I didn't really know, or care. I could only focus on how pale Mom was - like she was being visited by ghosts.

"We're fine." Ino's smile was plastered to her face, "How are you? I heard you went to Japan-"

"Yes." Mom interrupted, "I just needed to... get away for awhile. Ever since Sakura-" she took a shaky breath. I suddenly felt terrible about having my friends remind her of what was going on.

"We miss her too." Shikamaru said quietly, and I could tell that his words were true. Regardless of the fact that I was always watching them, they couldn't see me, and it wasn't certain whether they ever would again.

"Have you gone to visit her, since you've returned?" Ino asked.

To our collective surprise, my mom shook her head. "It's too hard." she admitted, "I feel like a terrible mother, but I just can't. I can't go back to that hospital anytime soon."

There was an awkward silence, as they struggled for something to say. "I'm sorry." Mom finally said, "I shouldn't have told you that, it was inappropriate-"

"Is everything okay?" my aunt interrupted, entering the room, "Are you okay?" She addressed my mother directly.

"I'm fine." Mom said, but it was obvious that she wasn't, "These were some of Sakura's friends."

"They _are _my friends." I corrected her, "I'm not dead, Mom."

My aunts' eyes widened in understanding, "Ah." she said, "I knew I recognized you." she indicated Ino.

"Yes ma'am." Ino smiled.

Seeing my mother's slowly deteriorating state, my aunt said, "Maybe it's time for you two to leave, we have some errands to run..."

"It was nice seeing you." my mother said weakly from her chair.

Before she could be seen out by my aunt, however, Ino said, "You need to go see Sakura, Mrs. Harano. She needs you."

I stayed long enough to see my mother's surprised face.

* * *

"Well that was a bust." Ino said, when we got back to Sasuke's house, "We didn't get to figure out that much before Sakura's aunt kicked us out."

"We figured out she isn't visiting Sakura." Shikamaru said, "I don't understand. Why can't she go see her own daughter?"

"She's under a lot of pressure." Sasuke said, "She lost her husband and her daughter in the course of almost five years. That can be hard on someone."

"That surprised me, too." I admitted, "I thought she would have at least gone to see my body once." Come to think about it, I hadn't gone in awhile. I wondered how I was doing...

Wow, I never thought I would think that.

It was at that point that Naruto came through the front door. "Hey guys," he said, "What are you talking about?"

"We're talking about a dead girl who needs to get back to her body." Ino said dryly.

"What the-" I began to say, but was interrupted.

"That's okay, you don't have to tell me!" Naruto laughed, and proceeded to ask Sasuke if he could borrow something. Sometimes Naruto made me wonder why he had made it this far in high school.

As soon as Naruto arrived, the discussion switched from seriousness to his new relationship with Hinata. To my surprise, they had really hit it off and were now dating.

"Huh," Shikamaru said, "I never really thought you would be her type."

"I know," Naruto grinned, "I'm really lucky!"

Cute, but not relevant to my problem. I had a sudden urge to push Naruto out of the door. What was wrong with me?

* * *

My mood didn't improve any over the next couple of days - enough for Sasuke to notice. "What's wrong?" he said, after I had slammed a door in Karin's face (effectively shocking Karin, so it was totally worth it).

"Nothing." I said. After my mom came back, it dawned on me how pointless everything seemed. I didn't even know if I could go back to normal, or if I even had time. Not to mention that I was permanently bound to someone who didn't feel the same way...

But I wouldn't think about that.

As the days went by, the day that Sasuke was supposed to move grew closer. My hope dwindled, but not completely.

"Sasuke?" I said one day the next week.

"What is it?" he answered. Sasuke had seemed happier lately, more than he usually did.

"Will you take me to see my body again? I want to see it again, just in case we end up going to Connecticut." We had decided that even if he did have to move, that I would go with him. Sasuke insisted that he would keep doing research there, and we would still figure it out. I wasn't so sure.

"Okay." Sasuke said simply, "That sounds good. I'll call Ino." Since I hadn't known Sasuke when I was still "alive", it would probably better to have Ino accompany us.

The hospital was clean and white, just like I had remembered it. To my surprise, my room had a fresh bouquet of flowers in it - yellow chrysanthemums. Did my mom come to visit me?

"Hey Shizune." Ino greeted the nurse that was in the room, "How's it going?"

"Oh, hello Ino." Shizune looked sad, "Did you come to visit Sakura?"

"Duh." Ino laughed, and then stopped, seeing the look on Shizune's face, "Is everything okay?"

Before the nurse could answer, however, my mom walked in. "Hello Ino." she said, sounding tired.

"Mom!" I cried.

"Mrs. Harano." Ino said, "I'm glad you came."

My mother shrugged, "After what you said, I realized that I needed to be here for my daughter." her voice sounded odd, resigned almost.

"Er, like I was saying Mrs. Harano..." Shizune trailed off, "Maybe you should leave the room for a few minutes, Ino. Go down to the cafeteria with your friend."

Ino and Sasuke reluctantly left, saying they would be back in a few minutes. I stayed, of course.

"Okay," Shizune said, and then became serious, "We took an EEG test on her this morning, and the results weren't good. Her brain waves are dropping, and so is her blood pressure. We-" she took a deep breath, "We're not sure if she's going to make it."

My mother nodded; I saw a tear run down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry." Shizune said, her voice sympathetic. She hugged my mother, and then said, "If there's anything I can do..."

"I'm fine for now." whispered my mother, "Can I have a moment?"

"Of course." Shizune said softly, and then left the room.

I watched helplessly as my mother approached my body and slowly sank down into the chair beside it. "Please come back." she begged, "Don't leave me, please." She touched my face, and then my hand. I watched as she lost control and sobbed into the blankets.

"I'm right here, mom." I said. Was it true? Was I really going to die soon? This wasn't fair. "I've been here the whole time."

Ino returned, right after Mom controlled herself. I'd never seen her look so lonely. Where was my aunt when I needed her?

After hearing the news, Ino paled visibly. "This can't be happening." she said. Behind her, Sasuke's face was emotionless.

My mom left after that, saying that she had to return home. I could tell that she was about to start sobbing again, and wanted to get out before my friends saw.

"What do we do now?" Ino asked, "We don't have much time left... will Sakura just be stuck like that if she-" Ino choked back her tears, "I thought everything was going to be okay."

I shook my head, why was this happening?

No one spoke on the ride back home. I was thankful for the silence, so I could gather my thoughts.

"Maybe I'm supposed to move on." I told Sasuke when we got home, "Maybe I'm just here to help you." I had been telling Sasuke everything I knew, worried that I would fade away before I did.

"Don't say that." Sasuke said, "I told you, we're going to get you back."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" I snapped, "I'm dying Sasuke - Shizune said as much! We only have days until I disappear for good! I'll never return back!" I surprised myself by kicking the nearest table, it thumped weakly. "I can barely become solid anymore. I'm scared, Sasuke. I don't want to die." There it was, the fear that had been plaguing me ever since I woke up in this state.

"Me too." Sasuke admitted quietly, "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

I breathed in sharply, "Why are you saying that?" I said, "What did I ever mean to you? You're helping me remember?"

"That's not true." Sasuke said gently, "You've helped me a lot. I would have never known so much about this... ability I have if it weren't for you, and there's something about you that's keeping me from seeing the others..." he took a deep breath, "When I first saw you, I thought you were beautiful. I've never felt that way about anyone before. It wasn't until you touched Ino's shoulder and your hand passed through that I even realized that you weren't like everyone else. I've never met anyone like you, Sakura."

"What about Ami?" I countered, "You seem to like her enough."

He looked confused, "Ami's just a friend. You know that Sakura-"

"So it's Karin, then." I accused.

"It's you." Sasuke said, "It's only been you."

If I had a heart, it would have stopped in that moment. "I-it's the same way for me." I said, finally. "I've never felt this way about anyone else either."

If I had my body, I think he would have kissed me. Instead, he brushed my cheek with his hand, "It's going to be okay, Sakura." he said fiercely, "You're not going to die."

"I don't want to," I said, "but it's definitely a possibility."

He shook his head, "No, it's not. How many times do I have to tell you?"

I thought of a few snarky remarks to that, but instead I settled for resting my head on his shoulder. I couldn't feel anything, but that was okay. "Thank you." I said.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for another shorter chapter! I promise I'll make it up to you later, it just ended better here than it would have. I'm not really sure about this one, I had to rewrite it a couple of times to make it flow better, and I ended up with this. :/ Anyway, there's definitely more excitement to come! Please tell me what you think!

Thank you so much for the reviews! :) I love all of them, and I hope you'll review this chapter too! (hint, hint ;D)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	15. Chapter 15

_"I could possibly be fading_  
_Or have something more to gain_  
_I could feel myself growing colder_  
_I could feel myself under your fate_  
_Under your fate"_

_- Mazzy Star_

* * *

In the morning I felt... different. Like I was barely holding on. Something told me that this was the day, although I still wasn't sure what would happen. Thankfully it was a Saturday, so I didn't have to exert myself by going with Sasuke to school. For some reason, I was just apathetic lately.

Sasuke woke up earlier than usual, I remember that. What happened last night still felt surreal, like he was talking to another girl. One that may actually still be here the next day. "Hey." he smiled at me.

"Hey," I smiled back weakly, "did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "are you doing okay?"

I nodded. It was sort of the truth - I was still there, wasn't I?

I watched as Sasuke fixed himself a bowl of cereal, still feeling different. Maybe it was because of what we had said last night, but I felt better. He caught me looking, and smiled. "What?" he said.

Before I could answer, the phone rang. Sasuke answered it, and his expression turned dark immediately. "Is there anything you can do?" he said, and then after a pause, "Okay."

"Who was it?" I said.

"Itachi." Sasuke sighed, "He called to tell me that our parent's are refusing to negotiate with him - I have to go back today."

Oh yeah, that was today. I had completely forgotten, what with everything going on. "I'll go with you." I said, not sure if I actually would be able to.

He shook his head, "You're going back to your body." He said it like it was already a fact.

"Whatever you say." I said, and walked closer to him. I tried to touch his cheek, but my hand went through. "Hold still." I told him.

I focused myself, the way I did before I moved a heavy object, and tried again. It made contact. "There." I said, "I can finally touch you."

"Sakura." Sasuke said, sounding worried, "You're fading."

I stopped immediately, but was still secretly pleased. I had been wanting to do that for while. The color returned to my body gradually, but it was still a little weak. "It's okay." I replied.

We were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Ino and Shikamaru, surprisingly. "Is Sakura there?" Ino said briskly.

"Obviously." I said, "Where else would I be?"

"What's wrong?" Sasuke said, "Why are you here so early?" It was eight o' clock anyway. Shikamaru usually slept in until at least noon on the weekends, and he looked like he'd sprinted the whole way over to Sasuke's house.

"Sakura's mom just called." Ino said, "Sakura - the Sakura at the hospital - is doing really bad. They don't think she's going to last through the day."

I sighed, so that's what I felt this morning.

"We have to do something." Ino insisted, "Before it's too late! We only have until the end of the day, as far as the doctor's said. Sakura's mom-" she was almost in tears by now, "-said that w-we should p-probably go say goodbye."

I'll admit, I had been feeling resigned about this lately. My thought process had reasoned that it would be better to move on than to spend the rest of my life (is that what it would be?) in this state, unchanging, watching my friends and family move on without me. Sasuke had said that he would wait for me, no matter what, but wasn't that too much to ask? I didn't want him to spend his life waiting for a girl that he couldn't even touch. That no one else could see.

What kind of life would that be?

But after Ino's news, I felt a sudden resolve to do whatever it took to get my old life back. To have it almost in my reach and taken away was like having my heart ripped out of my nonexistent chest. Besides, I knew I had limited time in this state.

"What do you think we should do?" Sasuke asked me.

I searched my mind for something - anything that would help us out, but thought of nothing. "I honestly don't know." I said, feeling myself getting frustrated, "Ugh, this is so aggravating! Why couldn't that stupid medium we went to help at all? She had the Sight, didn't she?"

"She's talking to herself." Sasuke noted.

"Am not!" I protested, but I sort of was.

"We have to think of something." Ino insisted, "We don't have enough time."

"She's right." Shikamaru said, "Whatever we've got to do, it has to be today."

"Well," Sasuke said, "where do you want to begin?"

We talked for about half an hour, discussing ideas to try - something that might put me back quick. Ino came up with the idea of trying to get me to remember every detail of my life, going off the idea that perhaps my fading was a result of me remembering more and more. We tried that for about another half hour, but nothing happened.

Shikamaru came up with the idea that maybe if we tried to stretch the connection between Sasuke and me, it might snap and that would cause me to go back into my old body (really, being under pressure caused my friends to come up with some pretty good ideas). I agreed reluctantly to this, still feeling weary about it not working - what if I just vanished into thin air?

Stretching the bond wasn't hard. It had been growing stronger and stronger in the past few days so that I could barely stand to be out of the same building as Sasuke and not disappear. I walked halfway down the street, and felt myself disappearing. It was like I was slowly losing the gravity that was keeping me grounded to the earth.

A few steps later, and I felt like I was about to lose control. I sprinted back to my friends, terrified that I wasn't going to exist. "This isn't the way." I told a worried Sasuke, "I-I think we need to try something different.

"Well," said Shikamaru, "It was worth a try."

Ino punched him halfheartedly on the arm, but I could tell that she was disappointed.

We spent some more time throwing ideas around, but nothing worked.

My feelings of doubt came back. What if I would never get back? What if I wasn't _supposed _to? I wondered why I was even there - why I hadn't died in that stupid car accident. And how stupid of me, to make Sasuke tell my friends that I was still there. If I just "moved on", Ino and Shikamaru would have to go through their grief process all over again. And Sasuke, why had I let this happen?

I was so selfish.

* * *

It was five o' clock in the evening, and we had three hours until Sasuke's plane left at eight. I watched as Sasuke halfheartedly packed his things, feeling disappointed.

Nothing we had tried had worked, which only solidified my theory that I wasn't supposed to return. What if this was some mess-up, and I was supposed to die? What if I was just stuck here forever?

When I expressed this to Sasuke, he snapped, "Don't ever say that." he said.

"I don't want to think this way," I said, "but I don't want you to be hurt if I-"

"Sakura, you're not leaving." Sasuke insisted, "I won't let you. I didn't work this hard - we didn't work this hard for nothing to work out. Dammit, I'm not letting you disappear."

"Okay." I said, "Okay."

The minutes passed, and I felt my hold on everything go fainter. "Sasuke," I said, "Can we just go to the hospital again, before we leave, I mean?"

"Of course." he sighed, "Just let me get this packed, and I'll take you."

Ino and Shikamaru were already there. They had said that they just needed to check up on my body, to make sure that I wasn't going anywhere, but I knew they were saying goodbye.

I was both upset and relieved that they didn't admit it to me.

On the ride to the hospital, Sasuke said, "This isn't the end. Just because we might have to go to Connecticut does not mean we're giving up. I won't let you go, Sakura. I won't let you."

"It's okay." I said, simply, "You've done all you can do. We all have."

He shook his head, "It's never enough, don't you understand?"

When we got to my room, I caught Ino sobbing. "S-sasuke." she said, "I didn't think you would be coming." We only had two hours left, and he would have to be checking in at the airport soon.

"Sakura wanted to see her body again." Sasuke explained. No one else was in the room at the time. I wondered where my mom was.

I looked at the girl that had once been me, wondering where I went wrong. The one party I had ever decided to go to, and I ended up losing my life. How messed up was that? The Sakura in the hospital bed was breathing shallowly, and she looked extremely pale. I eyed the IVs in her - my - arms and shuddered.

Would I ever be the same if I did wake up?

"I'm so sorry, Sakura." Ino whispered.

"Don't be." I said, "I don't want you to have any guilt about this if... if I don't make it through."

I stared at Sasuke until he transmitted this message unwillingly. He was still in denial.

"I love you guys." I told Ino and Shikamaru, "You're my best friends, and I'm so happy I met you."

Shikamaru coughed, hiding the fact that he was getting emotional, "You're acting like this is goodbye."

I didn't answer them. I only insisted that Sasuke and I should probably begin getting ready to leave.

"So this is it, then." Ino said, and I saw the recognition in her eyes. That this was probably the last time she would get to talk to me.

Thankfully, Shikamaru and Sasuke didn't seem to realize it. "We won't give up, Sakura." Shikamaru promised, "You'll get back sooner or later, we just need more time."

"Thanks, guys." I sniffed, but I couldn't cry. Tears were streaming down Ino's face by now. "I'll miss you so much." she choked.

"You can still talk to each other." Shikamaru said, "Just call Sasuke." But he looked hesitant. I could tell he was upset at what was happening.

We left a few minutes later. "You know," Sasuke muttered on the way out as we were about to cross the street, "I meant what I said. You're not going anywhere."

But I wasn't able to respond, because a car driving nearby skidded on the ice that had began to build up on the street, and was headed right for Sasuke.

I didn't think about what I did then, but suddenly I was screaming. With all of the energy I had left, I pushed Sasuke as hard as I could out of the way, saving him. The car passed through me, of course.

People were gasping and talking - calling the police, even though we were already nearby a hospital. I vaguely saw the car that I had forced Sasuke to avoid crashed into a tree. A shame, really...

"Sakura." Sasuke said, "Sakura, what have you done?"

I looked down, I was almost gone. Without thinking, I had used up just about all the energy I had left to save Sasuke - it was instinct for me, something that I just did naturally.

"I couldn't let you die, too." I said, "I don't want you to end up like me."

Sasuke shook his head, and I could see tears in his eyes. This surprised me more than anything, I had never seen Sasuke cry, and had a feeling that it was a rare occurrence. "Don't." I said, reaching for his face, "I'm so happy you're alive."

We were standing on the sidewalk now, oblivious to the chaos around us. No one was paying Sasuke any attention, they were so fixated on the wreck nearby. I felt the rest of the energy drain out of me, and I knew I was fading.

"I love you." I said, "Don't ever forget that."

That was when I disappeared.

* * *

I was in darkness for what seemed like awhile, when all of a sudden, everything brightened up to the point where all I could see was white. Was this moving on? Had I finally gone ahead to... somewhere?

I was clothed in all white, which just made my pink hair stand out more. How long had I been here? I wondered if Sasuke was okay. If Ino-

"Sakura." A too-familiar voice called.

I turned just in time to see my father. He looked like he did when he was younger, before the cancer set in and he was still with my mom and me. I couldn't help it, I ran to him and hugged him like I did when I was about six. "I missed you so much." I said.

"I'm so proud of you." he replied, "I've been watching you, you know. You and your mother."

I pulled away, "You have? But how?"

He only smiled, "Do you know where you are right now, Sakura?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "Have I moved on?"

"You could." he said, "Or not. It's your choice."

I shook my head, "You're making no sense."

"It was your sacrifice to save Sasuke's life that brought you here, Sakura." my father said, "Which means you can go back if you want to."

"Does that mean that you can come back too?" I asked childishly.

He smiled sadly, "I'm afraid not. My time on earth has run out, but you still have a lot of time, if you wish. But first, I have something I must tell you."

"Okay." I replied, still taking in the sight of my father.

"You remember when I talked to you after I died?" he asked, "You must have been at least twelve by then."

"Yes." I said, remembering quite clearly.

"There was something I never go to say before your mother interrupted." he smiled, "About what you are."

"I already know," I said, "I have the Sight, right? I'm just like you."

"Close," he said, "but not quite. You do, like me, have the Sight. But there's something else I have to tell you. Sometimes, there are other people born with a gift that sort of... counterbalances the Sight. These people are so rare that they've barely surfaced in any legends. In fact, the myth of them has mostly died out, because it's only possible for people with the Sight to find them. They've been commonly called Lights, the idea behind that being that they make everything so bright around them that it's impossible for those like us to see the spirits around them. Your mother is one."

I gasped, and suddenly everything fell into place. I never saw spirits around my mother. Whenever she came into the room, they would just vanish. I had always thought it was because they were afraid, or because I really was going crazy and my mind was just taunting me. "So you never saw anything when you were around her?" I asked.

"No." my father said, "Which was a gift in it's own, really. I enjoyed the option of only using my gift when I was away at work, and having peace when I was at home with you and your mother. I didn't see spirits when I was with you, either. I was hoping that you had only inherited your mother's gift and not mine - her's was really harmless, you see. It wasn't until I realized that you could see me that day was when I figured out that you have both gifts."

"So that's why Sasuke couldn't see anything when I was around him?"

"Exactly." my father grinned.

"But Dad, how did I end up like this in the first place?"

He thought about it, "There has been some speculation among those with the Sight that we can be more resilient to death if we still have time left in this world. Since you were already so connected with the spirit world, it was easier for you to just slip into a coma and end up here than actually move on."

"So you're saying I would have died if I didn't have the Sight."

"No, but it would have been more likely." he explained.

"What do I do now?" I asked.

"You can either move on, or go back." my father said simply.

"Where will you go?" I asked him, and was surprised to feel a tear slide down my cheek.

"I think I'll begin my journey," he replied, "but don't worry. I'll be waiting for your mother." He told me to tell her something important, I smiled at the idea that I would be able to deliver this message.

I hugged him again, "I'll miss you so much."

"We'll see each other again." he said.

Suddenly, everything went black again.

* * *

Everything was dark again, but it was different. I could hear people rustling around me, and someone was saying my name. "Sakura!"

Who was it?

"Her vital signs!" A surprised voice said, "Look!"

"She's moving!" Another voice said. I wished they would shut up so I could go back to sleep.

When it became clear that this wouldn't happen, I opened my eyes. A girl with long blond hair was staring at me, her hand over her mouth. Tears spilled out of her eyes.

A boy with spiky (and slightly pineapple-shaped) hair stood next to her, looking equally as shocked.

"Aah." I gasped, "What's going on?"

"Sakura!" the blond girl sobbed, and ran towards me. I felt myself being embraced by her. Why did she seem so familiar?

"Miss, could you please-" a nurse was saying to the girl, but I wasn't paying any attention.

Suddenly, everything flooded back to me. "Ino." I said, and hugged her back, "Ino, I'm back. I'm here!"

"I'm so happy." she sobbed, "I missed you so much."

"I was there all along." I murmured into her ear so that only she could hear me, "You just couldn't see me."

Shikamaru - after getting over his shock - came over to the side of my bed. "I can't believe it." he said.

The nurses had given up at that point, and had left to go find the doctor that was in charge of my case. I didn't notice, because a very familiar person had entered the room. Sasuke.

"Hey." I said, and smiled, "I don't believe we've met before."

Instead of answering me, he walked across the room and kissed me. It didn't last half as long as it should have, i my opinion, but what he said made up for it. "I love you too." he said, "Don't ever forget that."

Tears welled up in my eyes, "I won't." I said.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey, remember that long chapter I promised you? Well here it is! I hope you're not disappointed. xD I loved your reviews, and thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story since I started writing it (and started again this summer), and thank you to the people who have just started reading too. There's still at least another chapter coming up (plus an epilogue) so I hope you stick around for that!

Anyway, this chapter took longer than I thought to get up. I really hope you like it! Please review and tell me what you think. :) I really appreciate it, and thank you so much!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	16. Chapter 16

"Sakura?" My mother asked hesitantly as she walked into the room. I didn't blame her, I would feel the same way if someone had told me my comatose daughter who was about to die just woke up. She looked like she was dreaming.

"Mom." I said, and smiled. I had realized, about ten minutes after waking up, that I was exhausted. Because I had been laying down for so long (at least, my body had) it was harder for me to do simple things like talk. I hadn't bothered trying to get up yet, but I would manage.

Everything would be okay now.

"Sakura." she said, her voice breaking, and ran towards me. I found myself enveloped into her arms, and I felt like I had when I was a child. Not surprisingly, we were both crying. "I was so worried." she sobbed.

"It's okay, Mom." I said, "Everything's okay."

Ino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were still in the room, looking both awkward and happy. Ino looked like she was going to start crying.

I had imagined all of the things I would say to her, my mother, when I was stuck in that not-quite-dead state - it was all very well planned out, too. But now there was something more pressing that I had to get out before I forgot, or worse, chickened out.

"Hey guys?" I said, "Can you leave the room for a few minutes? I have something I need to tell my mom."

"C'mon guys," Ino stood up from her place in the chair beside my bed, "Let's go check out the cafeteria."

Once they were gone I said, "Mom, I know that this is going to be weird but... I saw Dad."

My mom blinked, "What? What are you talking about?"

"He came and saw me when I was... sleeping." I had thought about explaining about everything that had happened to me, about what I had learned from Dad about us, but I figured it would be better to gradually get into it.

She shook her head, "It must have been a dream, Sakura. You were asleep for an awfully long time."

I sighed, and continued, "Look, it seems to hard to believe, but I saw him. He says he loves you, he misses you and..." I trailed off, not sure how to word it. Thinking back, I probably didn't seem entirely lucid. "He told me to tell you that he's sorry he forgot your anniversary that day. That he had everything planned, but then he had an emergency surgery and didn't get back until late. H-he said that he loves you so much, and that you're the most incredible woman he's ever met." I was tearing up now, for probably about the tenth time today, "He said he'll wait for you after you... you know. He never left you, Mom."

My mother shook her head, her eyes widening incredulously, "But how could you know that?" she said, sounding choked up, "Why would you know about that?"

"He told me." I insisted, "I saw him, you have to believe me."

After a pause, she nodded, and hugged me again. "I'm so glad you're back." she whispered, "I don't know what I would have done without you."

Suddenly, I was extremely fatigued. Without thinking, I said, "I was there all along." Before losing consciousness.

* * *

I woke up again to the sound of beeping. I sighed, and opened my eyes, only to find Sasuke sitting at the side of my bed. "Hey." I said.

He smiled, "Your mom wrote you this," and handed me a note.

_Sakura, _

_I've gone home to take a shower and pack some of my things, just in case you wake up before I get back. Your aunt is here to see you, too, so I'll bring her along. _

_Love,_

_Mom_

"She's a little attached." I smiled, the thought of this elated me. Just to have my life back - that was all I needed right now.

He took my hand. I was pleased that this was possible. "She has a right to be." he said, "When you fell asleep she panicked a little - thought you were going back into that coma. But the doctor said your body was just adjusting, and that you needed to sleep."

"That's funny." I murmured, "When it seems like that's all I've done." All of a sudden, I remembered something, "Hey," I said, "aren't you supposed to be in Connecticut?"

Sasuke shrugged, "My parents said I could stay. Itachi and I finally convinced them - they said that if I was going to be that adamant about this then they would let me live here permanently. Besides," he said, "if they think I'm leaving now that you're back..."

I leaned up and kissed him in response. "Thank you." I whispered.

We spent the rest of the time talking. Ino and Shikamaru had left, but they'd promised they would come back later. While my mom was gone, I caught Sasuke up on what my father had told me.

"That explains why I couldn't see anything." he said, "I was wondering."

"The funny thing is," I replied, "that I can't see any of them - the spirits, I mean - which is weird, because I remember seeing them in the hospital all the time."

"Maybe you just need to adjust." Sasuke said, "It might come back later."

I shook my head, "I'm not sure if I want that."

"I always thought I would be glad if I couldn't see things anymore," he mused, "but then I wouldn't have met you."

I snorted, "Well, if you put it that way..."

My mom came back in the room then, so we had to stop talking about it. It had been weird explaining about Sasuke, but we managed to come up with a somewhat believable story. Besides, Mom was too ecstatic about me being back to really care. At least, I thought. I would worry about that some other time.

Following my mom came my Shizune and Carrie, the nurses that had been looking over me; the ones that had adored my father. Since I had awoken, they had been in-and-out of my room constantly. Really, you would think their attention would wear off after awhile, but they seemed excited to see me every time.

"Hey there!" Shizune said, grinning, "We didn't think you were here, Mrs. Harano." I could tell she was joking, Mom had been at my side almost this whole time, unless she needed to go back home for something.

My aunt stepped into the room a few seconds later - it was like everyone in the freaking hospital was coming into my room now, not that I was complaining. I liked the company after months of only being able to talk to Sasuke (no offense, Sasuke). She had a similar reaction to my mother, hugging me and crying a little.

"Thanks for taking care of my mom." I told her earnestly. Really, it was great that someone had been there for her. Especially someone so devoted that they would take her to another country if she had to.

"Oh honey," my aunt replied, "I'm just so happy you're back."

Carrie, who was now messing with some tubes sticking out of me (I had actually gotten some of them out already, and was now slowly getting my body used to eating) chimed in, "We all are, Sakura."

I looked at Sasuke, who had moved out of the way but was still watching me. I hadn't thought about it before, but I wouldn't be going home with him after this. The thought of that seemed a little sad to me, but I would get used to it.

My life continued like this for awhile. I slept a lot - way more than I was expecting, and I had to slowly adjust to doing normal things that I had never thought about before, like walking and eating and other simple things. But my mother, and my friends and boyfriend (it felt great calling Sasuke that after so long) came and saw me all the time, so I guess it was okay.

It took maybe a month until I was finally functioning normally. I had turned seventeen recently (we had a birthday in the hospital, which was really thoughtful of everyone), and Shizune was saying that I would be able to go home after another week.

I was walking hand-in-hand outside with Sasuke. It was the middle of April, and everything was starting to warm up again. I loved the feeling of the sun on my face, and smiled as we passed the flowers that the hospital staff had planted for the patients.

"I'm going back to school next year." I told him. Mom and I had talked about it the night before, and it was decided that I would catch up on my work in summer school and return my senior year. I wanted to go back sooner, but since the school year was almost over and I was so far behind, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to go back now. Besides, I needed to work on not blurting out everything that came to mind about people (being invisible had made me blunter than usual... not a good thing usually).

Sasuke squeezed my hand and said, "I'm glad, I could tell you really liked going to school."

It was true, I adored learning. "You would know mister top-of-the-class," I said, "you're going to have a lot of competition when I get back." I was joking, but not really.

Ino, of course, was thrilled when I told her that I would be back by senior year. "That's great, Sakura!" she about shouted at me, "We'll be the best seniors ever!"

Shikamaru was less enthralled, but still happy. "So troublesome," he said, "but I'm glad you're back."

I finally got to leave the hospital at the end up April. They had to keep me longer to run some tests (to my chagrin). When it was decided that I was ready to go home, Shizune practically started bawling, "It's a miracle!" she said.

"Just ignore her." Carrie advised.

"Thanks, guys." I grinned, "I'll come visit, okay?"

"You'd better!" Shizune said.

When I got home, my mom and aunt had fixed up my room back to almost how it had been before (they hadn't touched it since after my accident). I sat on my bed contentedly, and looked at my lavender walls - the color they had been since I was twelve. I couldn't believe that I had slept through my junior year - well, at least that was how it had appeared. Hopefully my being present in Sasuke's classes would help me get through summer school easy enough.

My mom walked into my room, "Feeling okay?" she said.

I nodded, "I'm fine, Mom." she had been doing this ever since we got back about an hour ago. For some reason, not being in the hospital had made her worried that I would slip back into a catatonic state, even though the doctors and Shizune had insisted that everything would be fine. Well, I did too, but she didn't seem to care about what I was saying.

Mom sighed, "I'm sorry, dear," she said, "but you know I worry."

I smiled, "I know."

* * *

Ino had called me before I left the hospital, telling her that Sasuke and I needed to meet her and Shikamaru at a restaurant - the very one that Sasuke had been at with Ami and everyone. Oh how everything had changed...

I went, of course. It wasn't everyday that you suddenly come back into your body after several months and get to see everyone again. Which is how I found myself in that restaurant with a huge crowd of people.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto greeted me, "Long time no see!"

I was glad to see that he hadn't forgotten about me. To my surprise, I really had missed Naruto, especially after I had gotten to know him more through Sasuke. "I know, right?" I grinned, "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Talking to everyone else went similarly, until I found myself talking to everyone at the table: Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, and Naruto and Hinata (she had taken off of work) were a given, but I had been a little surprised to see Gaara and Matsuri (they were such a cute couple), Choji Akimichi (one of Shikamaru's friends, we saw each other often enough before my accident), Neji, Tenten, and Karin and Ami (although I wasn't sure who invited them).

Regardless, I was thrilled, and extremely touched. I got a lot of "welcome back"s and Karin didn't even snap at me. It was hard not to blurt out things about the revealing top she was wearing though. Ami seemed a bit disappointed that Sasuke and I were dating, but she'd get over it.

I spent the rest of the night listening to my friends catch me up on what had happened that year, pretending to be surprised when they told me the things that I had experienced.

It wasn't until Ino and I were alone in the bathroom that I finally got to hear what I had been waiting for for awhile. "So Ino," I said, "you never told me... how did you and Shikamaru start dating?" We had always been surrounded by others constantly, so Ino and I hadn't had much to talk. That would change soon, I knew.

Ino shook her head and smiled, "You're not going to let that go, are you?" she thought for a moment, "Well, we started going out about a month after you... well, you know." I knew. "You know how I liked him before that, but it was just, like, the beginning stages and I was sort of in denial about the whole thing." It was true, when Ino first realized that maybe she liked Shikamaru as more than friends, she was a little freaked out.

I nodded, "So, what happened?"

"Well," she said, "we had been talking about how much it hurt to lose you, and how I didn't know what I would do without either of you, he said he didn't want to lose me, and well, we kissed. It happened sort of fast - I mean, I wasn't exactly expecting it, I was still really upset about you." she paused, taking in a breath, "but I'm glad it happened, it really helped us cope, you know? And now you're back and I have an amazing boyfriend," she sighed, "and you do too."

I smiled, "It's hard to believe that things worked out so well, right? I was really worried there for awhile."

"Me too," Ino said, "but it all worked out."

We left after that, not before promising that we were going to have a sleepover sometime just to spend some time together. I missed doing that with Ino, especially after months of worrying that it would never happen again. It was a luxury, I realized, even being able to spend time with the people you care about.

Sasuke took Naruto and me home that night. I sat in the front seat, and listened to Naruto chatter about Hinata (that was all he talked about lately - I thought it was cute, but Sasuke said it was annoying. Oh well.) while Sasuke drove. I never got tired of looking at Sasuke, knowing that it was okay because we were dating now- he smiled back at me, and then turned his focus back on the road.

"And then she made me ramen!" Naruto sighed contentedly, "Isn't she great?"

"Yes, Naruto." Sasuke replied dully.

I snorted unwillingly, "That's awesome," I said.

We pulled up in front of Naruto's house. "Get out." Sasuke said, not politely. I knew he didn't mean it, Naruto was his best friend.

Naruto stepped out of the car without complaining, and then said. "You know, Sasuke, I've been thinking... remember when Ino said you were talking to a dead girl?"

"I don't remember." Sasuke said, even though that wasn't true.

"Well," Naruto looked a little confused, "was that Sakura?"

Really, sometimes I thought he was a genius and just pretended to be dumb. "Don't be stupid, Naruto." I said lightheartedly, "I was in a coma, not dead."

We drove away before he could say anything else.

"That was close." I laughed, "Naruto really surprises me sometimes."

Sasuke shrugged, "It happens occasionally."

We had reached my house by that point. I could see a light on upstairs - Mom was waiting up for me. "I should go." I said.

Sasuke leaned over and kissed me, "See you soon." he said. I suddenly felt ecstatic. I would see him soon. I could see him everyday, and I would know I wasn't going anywhere.

Thinking back, it wasn't like everything was perfect then. I still had some complications because of the coma (they were going away), I still missed my dad sometimes, and summer school was a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

It was then that I had an epiphany - my life didn't have to be perfect for me to be happy. Before the accident, I was a perfectionist. I did everything I could to keep everything from falling apart, without paying more attention to the little things. I was over that now.

What I had wasn't perfect, but that didn't mean it was something extraordinary.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, I just want to thank you all for the reviews, they were amazing you guys! Anyway, here's the second to last chapter of this fanfiction, I hope you like it! I feel like this took me longer than usual to write, so hopefully it's okay. xD I would write more, but currently I'm really tired and about to go to sleep. :P

Please tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.


	17. Epilogue

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait, guys! I've been really busy! Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews - you guys are amazing, and I'm so happy that so many of you enjoyed my fanfiction! This chapter is a lot shorter than usual, but I feel like I've pretty much wrapped things up and I don't want to keep prolonging it. :P

So here's the end! I had so much fun writing this fanfiction, and I'm really happy that I finally got it finished. Thank you for your patience (haha :P) and the reviews, and I hope you'll tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Sakura, Ino's here!" Mom called from downstairs. I was up in my room, nervously adjusting the new clothes I was wearing. They weren't anything special, not really, but when I was anxious I fidgeted a lot. It was the first day of my senior year in high school.

To tell the truth, I was a little sad that summer was over. It had been a good one, with everyone happy (especially me) that I was back. Okay, so I spent a lot of time making up work in summer school, but when I wasn't studiously trying to learn everything I had missed (it wasn't that hard, really, since I had made an effort to learn some things from Sasuke's classes) I was spending time with Ino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke.

Adjusting to everything had been harder than I thought. It wasn't until about late June when I finally felt fully healed.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke had asked me. He always asks that whenever we see each other - it's sort of endearing and annoying at the same time. Mostly endearing.

"Really great, actually." I replied, "I think everything's in full working order now." Referring to my body.

We were walking around my neighborhood, just talking. It was something we did often when we didn't want to go into town. Suddenly, I thought of something.

"Sasuke," I said, "have you seen any spirits lately?"

He thought about it, "One," he finally said, "but they were just passing by. I don't see them when I'm around you, though. And we're together a lot."

I nodded, thinking. To my surprise, I hadn't seen any of them after I got out of my coma. I had assumed that it was a combination of my mother's closeness and exhaustion that was causing this, but even after I started getting out more and going to summer school, I still saw nothing.

In all honesty, I was both disappointed and relieved.

"I don't know what's happening," Sasuke admitted after I told him about it, "maybe you can't see them anymore. You spent a long time in that world... maybe when you came back you lost your ability to See."

I had thought of that, but had mostly been denying it, "It was a cool gift," I said without thinking, "now I'm not special anymore."

"You keep people like me from seeing them." Sasuke said quietly, "That's pretty special."

I shook my head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I feel like something's been missing, like I forgot how to breath or something and never re-learned how."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sasuke smiled, teasing me, "but I understand."

I stopped abruptly, and Sasuke knocked into me a little, "What are you doing?" he asked.

Something had been nagging at me for a few weeks, something that Karin said, _"Why does he even like her, anyway?" _I had overheard her hissing to Ami, _"I__t's not like they've really spent any time together, or he even sees her that much for that matter!" _

I saw him everyday, I wanted to snap back, but instead I just walked away quietly. We had been at a party (someone's birthday that I can barely remember, Ino made me go), and it had been one of the only times I had seen Sasuke in the past few weeks (us walking was the other one). He had been visiting his parents in Connecticut for a few weeks while I was in summer school. For some reason, I had been anxious for him to return. What if he was seeing things again? What if he realized he loved Rin?

Of course, I banished those thoughts from my mind. Sasuke called often enough, when he wasn't out doing something with his parents or old friends, and everything seemed to be going okay.

But I digress, Karin's comment at the party had made me wonder if Sasuke still felt the same way about me. It was painful to think about, but I wouldn't blame him if he realized that he didn't love me. We had a connection, it was broken, and I would always be thankful to him. But that didn't fix the pain in my chest that I felt thinking about what I would say to him.

"What is it, Sakura?" Sasuke said, a little impatiently.

I explained to him everything I had been thinking about for the past few weeks, "I get it if you don't feel the same way," I said in a small voice, "you don't have to feel obligated to stay with me, now that we've been through so much."

Sasuke looked shocked for a few seconds, and then regained his composure, "Sakura, what are you talking about?" he said, "Of course I don't- how could you even think that?"

I shrugged, feeling stupid now, "I guess I'm just feeling insecure," I smiled wryly, "You're just so... perfect."

"You're sounding like those girls that follow me around." Sasuke smiled.

"Oh man," I said, "that's not good."

I couldn't say anything else then, because he kissed me. It was a kiss so reminiscent of the one in the hospital, that I knew I was being foolish in thinking that he didn't love me anymore. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. We stayed like that for awhile, until it really was getting dark, and I had to get back to my house.

I spent the remaining time I had during the summer with Sasuke and my friends. In fact, everything was going so well that I shouldn't have been nervous about my first day of high school.

"Hey," Ino grinned as I climbed into her car - that hadn't changed, with all the hospital bills we had, I wouldn't be getting a car anytime soon, "you look cute."

"You got me this outfit." I reminded her. The day before Ino had shown up at my house with an armful of clothes which she immediately attacked me with. Despite my pleas, my mom and aunt (who was heading home today, too) just laughed at me. I had never been one to pay attention to clothes...

"Exactly." Ino winked, and I rolled my eyes.

Thankfully, I had friends in all of my classes. It was a bit odd, really, to be back to school with everyone else. I got a few strange looks in the hallway - I was now the girl that had just gotten out of a coma; something I wasn't sure I liked very much, but it was better than being invisible. I was also the girl who was inexplicably going out with Sasuke Uchiha too, but I didn't mind that as much.

"Hey," Sasuke smiled at me when I sat down next to him at lunch - how I've wanted to do for so long, "how are you?"

I grinned back at him, "Excellent."

Even though we were still in high school, Sasuke and I had decided that we were together for the long run (to many girls' dismay, I might add). My Sight never came back to me; Sasuke had this theory that it was because I had already "died" once, and lost my connection to that world. I still had the ability to keep Sasuke from seeing them when I was around (something that came in handy when we went to visit his parents in Connecticut, or in big cities).

It was with my help that Sasuke learned to control his power, making it so that he would only see spirits when he wanted to.

"You know," I joked to him once, "you could totally become a medium like that lady we went to."

Sasuke only looked at me like I was crazy.

I don't want to be cliche and say we lived happily ever after, but it was pretty close.


End file.
